Even Cheogajip Yangnyeom Chicken at Home... Distribution Industry Falls for Chicken Flavor

Cheogajip Seasoned Chicken Wang Gyoja. Photo by Lotte Mart

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The distribution industry is expanding the home meal replacement (HMR) market by collaborating with chicken franchises. They are introducing new flavors by creating products that consumers are familiar with, such as distinctive seasoned tastes, in a form that can be easily prepared and eaten at home.

On the 12th, Lotte Mart launched the ‘Wang Gyoja’ product jointly developed with the 30-year-old chicken brand ‘Cheogajip Yangnyeom Chicken’. ‘Yorihada X Cheogajip Yangnyeom Chicken Wang Gyoja’ incorporates Cheogajip Yangnyeom Chicken’s secret seasoned sauce, capturing the exact flavor of seasoned chicken. It is a new product combining chicken, a popular delivery menu, with dumplings, a popular frozen food, in a market dominated by meat and kimchi dumplings.

Homeplus released two types of ‘Signature Whole Leg Barbecue’ in collaboration with the chicken franchise BBQ. They coated domestically sourced chicken legs with BBQ’s Gangjeong-flavored sauce and spicy barbecue sauce. The product is characterized by a soft yet chewy texture achieved through air frying. E-Land Retail’s Kim’s Club collaborated with the chicken brand Mexicana to introduce two easy-to-eat products: ‘Boneless Mayo Chicken’ and ‘Boneless Ddaengcho Chicken’. Only tender chicken leg meat was used, and each is seasoned with mayo and ddaengcho sauces, respectively.

The bakery company Tous Les Jours introduced croquettes in partnership with Kyochon Chicken. Using the secret sauces from Kyochon Chicken’s signature series and red series, the croquettes feature a flavor reminiscent of chicken.

An industry insider said, "As the HMR market grows, chicken franchise companies are newly capturing their familiar flavors in convenient meal products," adding, "There are ongoing unique collaborations that present familiar seasoned tastes in new forms, not only in chicken-related products but also in dumplings, bread, and more."