[Distribution Hot People] Kim Hyeja Dosirak Sold Out... "15 Varieties to Launch Within the Year"

55% of Total Lunchbox Sales
Fried Egg and Sesame Oil: A 'Godsend'
Actress Kim Hyeja Participates in Product Development

"This year, we plan to sequentially launch 12 to 15 types of the Hyeja-ro-un Jipbap series."

On the afternoon of the 22nd, Moon Ji-won, GS25 lunchbox product planner (MD), whom we met at the GS Retail headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, said, "We will diversify the ingredients and introduce 1 to 2 products every month," adding, "In addition to lunchboxes focused on a single main dish such as Jeyuk (spicy pork) and Ojingeo-bokkeum (stir-fried squid), we will also create multi-side dish products."

Moon Ji-won, GS25 Lunchbox Product Planner (MD).
[Photo by GS Retail].

The Kim Hyeja lunchbox is being re-released after 6 years and is virtually continuing a sold-out streak. Moon MD said, "Currently, two types of the Hyeja-ro-un Jipbap series account for about 55% of total lunchbox sales," and predicted, "They maintain overwhelming performance, and since customer response is enthusiastic, this trend is expected to continue for some time."

The secret to the popularity of the Hyeja-ro-un Jipbap series lies in high quality and affordable price. Moon MD explained, "Recently, as prices have been soaring sharply, customers who want abundant food at a reasonable price have requested the re-release of the Kim Hyeja lunchbox," adding, "We paid attention to every main dish and side dish to create a reasonably priced lunchbox, and we also carried out donation activities for children in need, which seems to have received a good response."

Fried eggs and sesame oil, which evoke the feeling of home-cooked meals, are considered a masterstroke. Moon MD said, "Since the concept of the lunchbox is like a home-cooked meal prepared by a mother, we placed moist fried eggs on top of the rice. This is the biggest difference from other companies and has generated a lot of word of mouth," adding, "Due to the nature of refrigerated distribution, it is difficult to maintain flavor after microwave heating, so we compensated by instructing customers to drizzle sesame oil just before eating. We plan to diversify finishing flavor oils and sauces in the future."

Actress Kim Hyeja actively participated in the product development process. Moon MD stated, "We held multiple tasting sessions and received feedback. In particular, she requested to lower the saltiness of the lunchbox side dishes, which we reflected," adding, "She personally visited the manufacturing factory to check the mass cooking process, and after the product launch, she purchased and tried it herself and provided additional feedback."

GS25 aims to create more than five hit lunchboxes that sell over one million units this year. Moon MD said, "The Jeyuk-bokkeum lunchbox surpassed one million sales in just one month," and added, "We want to improve product quality to break the negative perception of convenience store lunchboxes and be recognized as a delicious meal for people."