GS25, Powerpuff Girls... Door to Seongsu Popup
CU, LINE Friends Minini... Expanding Keyring Goods
7-Eleven, Sanrio·Meonjakkwi... Targeting Jalpah Preferences
Emart24, Design Collaboration Adds Personality to Chunsik
Convenience stores have intensified the 'Pepero Battle' featuring popular characters. To target not only those who want to casually share Pepero on November 11, 'Pepero Day,' but also those who want to give meaningful gifts, they collaborated with popular characters, adding personality to Pepero and preparing various character-themed goods.
Models at GS25 are introducing key Pepero Day products along with Powerpuff Girls merchandise [Photo by GS25].
Characters in front of Pepero... All the characters beloved by the Zalpa generation gathered
According to the distribution industry on the 2nd, GS25 will showcase a variety of products including 35 differentiated set products and 2 differentiated Pepero products in collaboration with the popular animation 'Powerpuff Girls' for this year's Pepero Day event. Powerpuff Girls is a popular animation featuring three distinctive characters who break down social stereotypes and absurdities, build solidarity among themselves, and promote growth.
GS25 explained that they selected Powerpuff Girls as this year's differentiated collaboration character because the show’s vibrant colors reminiscent of pop art and the confident, unique protagonists align well with the customer base enjoying Pepero Day. Customers who purchase any of the 35 Powerpuff Girls Pepero Day set products via KakaoPay by the 9th will receive a 30% payback on their purchase amount, and a 2+2 event will be held on two differentiated Pepero products until the 10th. At GS25 Door2Seongsu (GS25 Seongsu Yeonmu Jang-gil branch), a 'GS25×Powerpuff Girls' pop-up store will be open until the 29th, offering Pepero products, Powerpuff Girls apparel, and a hands-on experience zone.
CU will also present over 40 differentiated products combined with six cute character brands. CU’s representative product this year is a Pepero planning product line of 10 items in collaboration with Line Friends' Minini. Customers can receive goods featuring the Minini character along with Pepero when purchasing these products. Minini goods include plates, stickers, diaries, scrubbers, and lunch boxes. Two types of 'Mini Carriers' can be pre-ordered at Pocket CU until the 7th. Additionally, products collaborating with 'Hyeottangeun Angkko,' 'Ujumunji,' 'Butter Family,' and 'Ul-aengmusae' will be released. These products come with keyrings, eco-bags, coin purses, and foldable mats featuring these characters along with Pepero.
Until the 10th, customers purchasing 31 planned products via KakaoPay or TossPay will receive on-site discounts of up to 50%, and a 50% on-site discount event will also be held for all seven single Pepero products when paid through the Shinhan Play application. CU is also running a Pepero glove raffle event where customers can purchase gloves with a barcode for 1,111 KRW that can be redeemed for 1.11 million KRW worth of CU gift certificates in collaboration with Musinsa. Participation is possible through the 'Raffle Entry' button in the Musinsa app until the 5th, with 11 winners to be selected on the 6th.
Seven Eleven is targeting the Zalpa generation (Gen Z + Alpha generation) with Sanrio Characters, Menjakgui, Doraemon, and more. Seven Eleven is offering a total of 110 products for this Pepero Day. A representative exclusive product series is Menjakgui. Menjakgui is short for 'something small and cute,' consisting of animal-type characters such as the main character Chiikawa, Garma, and Rabbit. This character was a mega hit in Japan last year and is also popular domestically, with 'open runs' occurring when pop-up stores open. Seven Eleven will sell eight Pepero products featuring Menjakgui characters and separately offer a Menjakgui custom sticker set that appeals to the 'Dakku tribe' (diary decorating enthusiasts).
They are also collaborating with Sanrio Characters, a hot character among the Zalpa generation. According to the official Sanrio Characters website in 2023, the most popular character in Korea is Cinnamoroll. Accordingly, a large number of Cinnamoroll-related products have been released for this Pepero Day. Representative items include the 'Cinnamoroll Multipurpose Basket,' which is useful as a bathroom or organizing basket, the 'Cinnamoroll Dessert Plate Set' perfect for dessert photo shoots, the 'Cinnamoroll Mini Tray,' and the 'Cinnamoroll Coaster.'
They also released exclusive products featuring the beloved character across all generations, Doraemon. Adding character goods that stimulate collectors’ desires such as 'Doraemon Eco Bag,' 'Doraemon Note Case,' and 'Doraemon Grip Tok Set' strengthens the competitiveness of Pepero products.
Models are introducing Pepero Day promotional products at Emart24 in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Emart24].
Emart24 has featured the highly recognized and preferred character 'Chunsik.' They partnered with 'Design Studio Dens' for product development. Emart24 and Dens added wit and charm to Chunsik’s cuteness with vivid colors and introduced planning sets including practical goods that stimulate the young generation’s desire to collect, such as stress ball keyrings, knee blankets, tarpaulin bags, and mini carriers. Representative Chunsik planning products include Chunsik Choco Pepero, Almond Pepero, Chunsik Sticker Pepero 4-pack set, Chunsik Stress Ball Keyring Pepero 5-pack set, Chunsik Knee Blanket Pepero 4-pack set, Chunsik Tarpaulin Bag Pepero 8-pack set, and Chunsik Mini Carrier Party Pack Pepero 3-pack set, totaling seven types.
Emart24 offers payback coupons up to 15,000 KRW depending on the purchase amount when customers pay 10,000 KRW or more for packages containing Chunsik goods via KakaoPay until the 11th. They also run a '2+2' bonus event for customers paying for Chunsik Choco Pepero and Almond Pepero with event cards. Customers who purchase at least one of the 17 seasonal limited Pepero products will be entered into a draw to win one of 90 prizes, including a 'Canon Selphy CP1500 (Pink)' and a 'Limited Edition Selphy Album.'
November, the peak month for Pepero sales, sees increased sales with character collaboration Pepero
November is the period when most of the annual Pepero sales occur at convenience stores. This year, with a subdued Halloween marketing atmosphere, Pepero Day sales have become more important than ever. Each company has diversified the number of collaboration characters and products this year, focusing on the fact that sales of Pepero with characters and various goods are showing strong growth.
GS25 has supplied and sold differentiated character collaboration Pepero products for three consecutive years, starting with Teletubbies in 2020, Chunsik in 2021, and Jjanggu in 2022, through consultations with manufacturers. As a result, the proportion of character collaboration single Pepero product sales in GS25’s total single Pepero sales in November increased significantly each year: 17.2% in 2020, 30.5% in 2021, and 41.4% in 2022.
CU also reported that the sales growth rate of goods products was 10.5 percentage points higher than that of general products. Analysis of last year’s Pepero Day product sales showed that the sales growth rate of goods products compared to 2021 was 36.3%, while that of general products during the same period was 25.8%.
Seven Eleven also saw a 50% increase in sales during last year’s Pepero Day season compared to the previous year by strengthening character collaborations. At Emart24, 47% of the annual Pepero sales volume was sold in November last year.
A convenience store industry official said, "As the number of customers seeking Pepero and related goods collaborating with characters increases every year, we spend almost a year finding characters that appeal to the target customers, mainly those in their teens and twenties, and planning products. Marketing using character collaboration products and goods will be strengthened for the time being."
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