"Seasonings and Bottled Water in Food Products"... Common People Sigh Over Domino Price Increases in the Food Industry

Processed Foods Including Bottled Water and Confectionery Continue Upward Trend
Main Reason is Cost Increase... "Nothing is Not Rising"

As comprehensive price hikes continue across the food industry, the sighs of ordinary people are growing deeper. Prices of most food and beverage products, including processed foods, sauces, drinks, and bottled water, are maintaining an upward trend.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, China's lockdown measures, the U.S. interest rate hikes, and soaring international oil prices have all contributed to ongoing inflation. On the 20th, a shopper at a large supermarket in downtown Seoul is reviewing their receipt. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

According to the industry on the 25th, a series of price increases have recently been ongoing in the food sector. CJ CheilJedang raised the wholesale prices of gochujang and seasoning products by up to 11%. Following large supermarkets, prices will also increase at convenience stores starting from the 1st of next month. These are the first increases in 6 months and 4 years, respectively.

Bottled water prices are also on the rise. Pulmuone’s affiliate Pulmuone Sammul plans to raise the prices of its bottled water products, Pulmuone Sammul and the new bottled water product Pulmuone Sammul Water Routine launched last year, by 5% each starting from the 1st of next month. Starting with Lotte Chilsung Beverage’s Icis in December last year, Jeju Development Corporation’s Jeju Samdasoo also decided to raise prices this year for the first time in 5 years, followed by Haitai htb’s Gangwon Pyeongchang Water and Pulmuone Sammul, which also decided to increase prices consecutively. Icis raised the wholesale price of Icis 8.0 by 8.4% in December last year, and from the 1st of next month, prices of Icis 8.0 and Icis Eco sold at convenience stores will increase by 11.1% to 15.7% depending on the volume. Jeju Samdasoo implemented an average 9.8% increase based on wholesale prices. Gangwon Pyeongchang Water raised prices by 7% to 7.9% by volume last month.

The same applies to ice cream and snacks. Binggrae’s ice creams Melona, Bibibig, and Candy Bar will see convenience store prices rise from 1,200 won to 1,500 won. Haitai Ice Cream’s Nugaba, Ssang Ssang Bar, Babamba, and Hodumaru will also increase from 1,200 won to 1,500 won. Lotte Confectionery plans to raise convenience store prices of World Cone, Chaltteok Ice Cream, and Seolreim from 2,000 won to 2,200 won. Kkokkal Corn (67g) will also increase from 1,500 won to 1,700 won. The increased prices will be reflected sequentially across distribution channels and will be applied to convenience store prices starting from the 1st of next month.

The main reason for the food industry’s price hikes is the sharp rise in various costs involved in product manufacturing, including raw material costs, labor costs, and logistics expenses. After April, a domino effect of price increases is expected to continue in the alcoholic beverage industry due to increases in liquor tax and bottle costs. Following last year, the domino effect of price hikes has not stopped since the beginning of this year, making the financial situation of ordinary people even more strained.

An industry insider said, "As the costs involved in the manufacturing process continue to rise, price increases are expected to continue across all product categories this year as well," adding, "Since external factors account for the majority, this trend is likely to continue for some time."