What Are This Year's Convenience Store Sales Trends? Fun and High Quality

Wonsoju, Bredique, Gompyo Wheat Beer... Driving Convenience Store Sales This Year
Differentiated Products Take Top Spots
Strong Performance Continues for Brewed Coffee and Ice Cups
Self-Test Kits Unusually Rank 2nd

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] This year, differentiated products such as Wonsoju Spirit, Breadique, and Gompyo Wheat Beer have pushed out traditional leaders to secure top sales rankings. These products have been well received by the main customer base, the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), by offering freshness and fun along with high-quality goods.

According to the convenience store industry on the 15th, GS25 analyzed the popularity rankings of products based on sales from January 1 to December 12 this year, and Wonsoju Spirit ranked 8th. This is the first time that a differentiated alcoholic beverage has entered the top 10 in sales at GS25. The product is a premium soju distilled from fermented Totomi rice from Wonju, Gangwon Province, and was released in limited quantities, causing an open-run phenomenon as a follow-up to Wonsoju. Since its first launch in July, it has become a 'sold-out item' and achieved record-breaking sales. The cumulative sales and volume of Wonsoju Spirit surpassed 30 billion KRW and 3 million bottles, respectively, contributing to a 20-fold growth in premium soju sales in the second half of the year compared to the same period last year.

GS25's bakery brand Breadique also rose in ranking from 10th last year to 7th this year. Launched in January last year as a premium brand aiming to provide bakery-level quality bread, it has exceeded 40 million units in cumulative sales since its release. The trend among young people to replace meals with bread has spread, leading to an increase in consumers seeking convenience store bakery products.

At CU, Gompyo Wheat Beer ranked 9th in terms of sales volume. Gompyo Wheat Beer was developed in 2020 through a collaboration between CU, flour manufacturer Daehan Flour Mills, and beer manufacturer Seven Brau, and played a key role in sparking the craft beer craze in convenience stores. Its cumulative sales currently stand at 34 million units, maintaining second place in the beer category after Cass.

Elemental Soju Spirit product image. (Photo by GS Retail)

The strength of private brand (PB) products such as instant ground coffee, ice cups, and bottled water also continued. As high inflation persists, the preference for cost-effective (price-performance) products has become more pronounced. At CU, Delafe cup ice ranked 1st, Get Instant Ground Coffee 2nd, and Heyroo Mineral Water 6th. At GS25, Cafe25 ranked 1st and Yours Ice Cup 5th. At 7-Eleven, Seven Cafe ranked 1st and cup ice 2nd, while at Emart24, Ifresso Ice Cup ranked 1st, Haru One Liter Bottled Water 2nd, and Ifresso Ground Coffee 3rd.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, demand for self-test kits also exploded. At GS25, sales of self-test kits increased 500-fold compared to the previous year, unusually ranking 2nd in overall sales. GS25 operates various self-test kit products such as Repigen, OHC, PCL, and Wells Bio, and sells them in over 9,000 stores with medical device approval.

A convenience store industry official said, "In the high inflation situation, differentiated products and PBs that combine taste and price are gaining great popularity," adding, "The consumption trend seen this year is expected to continue next year as well."