Large Mart Strawberry Battle... Massive Introduction of New Varieties

Emart Sells Pineapple-Scented White Strawberries
Lotte Mart Expands Domestic Varieties
Homeplus Continues Launching Various Products

Emart will hold a promotion for one week starting from the 2nd of next month, offering a 20% discount on all strawberry products when purchased with a promotional card.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Large supermarkets are introducing various strawberry varieties with different tastes and textures to captivate consumers' palates during the winter strawberry season.

On the 30th, Emart introduced a large number of new strawberry varieties such as Vitaberry, Asakdalkom Strawberry, and White Strawberry, and will hold a promotion offering a 20% discount on all strawberry products purchased with event cards starting from the 2nd of next month. Vitaberry is a large-fruited variety with firm flesh, containing 77 mg of vitamin C per 100g of fruit, about 30% higher than regular varieties. Asakdalkom Strawberry is a giant strawberry variety that grows up to 60g per fruit, characterized by high sweetness and firm flesh. The pink-colored Mannyeonseol Strawberry, which arouses curiosity with its unique color, has tripled its supply compared to last year, and a Japanese variety, White Strawberry, which has a pineapple scent, is also being introduced.

According to Emart, strawberry sales from the 18th to the 28th increased by 50% compared to the same period last year. This surpassed the sales of tangerines, the best-selling fruit during the same period last year. Generally, the first strawberry event of the year has been held around the second week of December, but this year, due to cooler weather after Malbok (the hottest period of summer), the strawberry harvest season came earlier, starting sales three weeks earlier than last year. Since strawberries tend to spoil easily when the weather warms up, Emart plans to continue sales until April using smart farm cultivation after late February next year.

Lotte Mart is promoting various domestic strawberry varieties such as Kingsberry Strawberry and Geumsil Strawberry under the title "Strawberry Original Price." As a result of expanding new variety products and supply, strawberry sales at Lotte Mart from the 1st to the 29th increased by 205.8% compared to last year. Homeplus will hold a discount event gathering various strawberry products starting from the 2nd of next month. Representative products include Saebyeokiseul Strawberry, Salsalnokneun Janghee Strawberry, and Knikun Kingsberry Strawberry. They plan to continuously release and introduce various varieties in the future.

A representative from a large supermarket said, "We are introducing premium strawberries of various varieties that are highly preferred by customers," adding, "We will expand the range of product choices to secure differentiated competitiveness in fresh food."