'Winter Means Goguma'... Food and Dining Industry Utilize Domestic Goguma

Pizza Alvolo's 'Dream Pizza'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] As a representative winter snack, the food and dining industry is actively launching unique menus using sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes, with their sweet taste, pair well with any dish and are rich in nutrients, making them a popular ingredient in various menus such as pizza toppings, ready meals, and ice cream. In particular, by using domestically grown sweet potatoes, both taste and safety are ensured, targeting winter consumers.

Pizza brand Pizza Alvolo uses domestically grown sweet potatoes in its ‘Kkum-eul Pizza,’ which allows customers to enjoy four flavors at once.

Kkum-eul Pizza is topped with domestically grown sweet potatoes, basil pesto made from fresh basil, organic cranberries, pineapple, and bulgogi made from Australian chuck, offering a variety of flavors in one menu.

'Nongshim Mem5 Sweet Potato Porridge'.

Nongshim recently launched a ready meal product called ‘Nongshim MIM5 Sweet Potato Porridge’ featuring sweet potatoes.

Nongshim MIM5 Sweet Potato Porridge contains 36% domestically grown sweet potatoes, preserving the soft texture and sweet taste unique to sweet potatoes, while containing 0% fat, cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat, making it a light meal option. Packaged in a pouch form for easy portability, it is ideal as a nutritious snack for busy daily life.

Baskin-Robbins' 'Cheese Goguma Guma'.

SPC Group’s Baskin Robbins launched ‘Cheese Gogumaguma’ in October last year, using domestically grown sweet potatoes. Cheese Gogumaguma is a menu combining sweet potato ice cream made from savory Haenam chestnut sweet potatoes with smooth cream cheese ice cream. It is further enhanced with sweet sweet potato dice and sweet potato cheesecake pieces, offering an upgraded flavor experience.

An industry insider said, “There are many cases in the industry where seasonal popular ingredients are used to attract consumer interest, and sweet potatoes are receiving much attention as a representative winter ingredient. Especially recently, with the growing importance of food safety and the emphasis on coexistence with farmers, menus using domestically grown sweet potatoes are being actively launched.”