"Lotte Chilsung Goes Independent After 1 Year, Growing 'Saero' as an Independent Brand"

'Cheoeumcheoreom' Operated Independently, Not as a Sub-Brand
'Cheoeumcheoreom' Logo Excluded from Product Labels

Lotte Chilsung Beverage is spinning off its zero-sugar soju ‘Cheoeumcheoreom Saero’ from the existing ‘Cheoeumcheoreom’ brand to develop ‘Saero’ as an independent brand.

According to the liquor industry on the 18th, Lotte Chilsung Beverage recently decided through a brand management policy meeting to differentiate and grow ‘Saero’ as a standalone soju brand.

To this end, Lotte Chilsung Beverage will change the name from ‘Cheoeumcheoreom Saero’ to ‘Saero’ and remove the Cheoeumcheoreom logo from the labels of future Saero soju products. A Lotte Chilsung Beverage official explained, “Recently, Saero’s recognition has steadily increased and sales have grown, so we judged that independent marketing operations are also possible.”

However, the official added, “Since Saero is the first soju product released by Lotte Chilsung Beverage after 16 years following Cheoeumcheoreom, we currently have no plans to expand the lineup with derivative products for the time being.”

Lotte Chilsung Beverage launched the zero-sugar soju ‘Cheoeumcheoreom Saero’ in September last year. Saero, which features a refreshing and smooth taste without using fructose, surpassed cumulative sales of 100 million bottles in just over seven months after its launch, and recorded cumulative sales exceeding 100 billion KRW as of the end of August. Lotte Chilsung Beverage’s total soju sales in the first half of the year reached 204.5 billion KRW, a 22.7% increase compared to the same period last year, with Saero sales accounting for about 30%, or 60 billion KRW, of that amount.