[Collaboration Boom Era] Overheated Competition Crossing the Line... Recklessness and Clich?s 'Ignored by Consumers'

Product Removal Including Shoe Polish and Chocolate
New Products' Average Lifespan 2-3 Months
Limited Editions and Market Expansion Expected to Continue

Malpyo Chocolate (from the left), Monami Magic Sparkling, Ddakbut Candy.

Recently, unique collaboration products have gained great popularity, but cases of consumer rejection due to excessive competition leading to overreach and boredom are becoming common. Representative examples include shoe polish chocolate, magic drinks, and glue stick candy, which were withdrawn amid concerns about misuse.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 20th, since August last year, products that are highly likely to be mistaken for and ingested by vulnerable groups with low cognitive ability, such as children, and pose significant health risks cannot be sold. The prohibited items include stationery and household chemical products among safety-verified children's products.

CU partnered with Malpyo Industrial, a shoe polish manufacturer, at the end of last year to introduce products such as ‘Daewang Malpyo Shoe Polish’ and ‘Malpyo Chocobean.’ These feature chocolates and snacks contained in Malpyo shoe polish tin cases. GS25 collaborated with stationery company Monami to launch the ‘Yours Monami Magic Sparkling’ drink. They produced beverage bottles that mimic the appearance of Monami Magic markers and applied Monami Magic’s unique design to the drink packaging. The drinks were made in black and red colors to represent the ink colors of the markers.

Seven Eleven released ‘Ddakbut Candy’ in collaboration with stationery company Amos Glue Stick. Unlike the traditional glue stick that twists from the bottom, this candy rises when pressed with a finger. The problem is that the product’s name and shape closely resemble actual glue sticks. These products faced criticism and backlash from consumers as children might mistake them for real shoe polish, magic markers, or glue sticks and consume them.

Now, even clich?d collaboration products cannot survive in the market. The convenience store industry estimates the average lifespan of new products to be about 2 to 3 months. Generally, whether a product will become a hit can be judged within 2 to 3 weeks, and whether sales momentum will continue can be assessed within 2 months. Recently, the product launch cycle has become even shorter, and unpopular collaboration products sometimes disappear quietly.

Professor Eunhee Lee of Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies said, “Since Korean consumers like new products, the trend of collaboration product launches is expected to continue. From a company’s perspective, continuously releasing new products is costly, but it is inevitable to attract customers. Rather than reckless attempts like in the past, collaborations will take various forms such as limited editions, character products, and category expansions.”