[Marketing Secret] After Medicine Comes ‘Tteok’... ‘Changyeok Tteokppang’ Quickly Rises to No.1 in Sales

Interview with Noh Taehwan, GS Retail Counter FF Team MD

'Home Shopping Sold Out' Product Combining Changyeoktteok + Bread Developed
200,000 Units Sold in One Month... Production Volume Increased by 350%
"Aiming to Grow Tteokbbang as a Mega Trend... Want to Introduce It Overseas Too"

"We want to establish Chang-eok Tteok as a product loved by all age groups, from MZ generation to older generations. It won't be a seasonal product but a 'steady seller'."

Noh Tae-hwan, MD of the GS25 Counter FF Team, is introducing two types of Chang-eok Tteokppang at the GS25 GS Tower store. [Photo by GS Retail]

As the craze for Yakgwa (traditional Korean honey cookies) has subsided, there is a product that has rekindled the fading flame of the 'Halmaennial (Grandmother + Millennial)' trend. The protagonist is GS Retail's 'Chang-eok Tteok Pumpkin Injeolmi Soboru,' launched on the 18th of last month. It combines soboru bread with pumpkin injeolmi made by Chang-eok Tteok. Despite the unusual combination of rice cake and bread, it sold 200,000 units in just over a month, rising to the top of the bread category sales. The follow-up product, 'Chang-eok Tteok Red Bean Glutinous Rice Cake Bread,' released on the 2nd of this month, also ranked second in sales, opening a new era for tteok bread.

No Tae-hwan, MD of the Counter FF Team at GS Retail, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 20th, "This product took a long time from development to launch," adding, "Although the release date was later than expected, seeing the continuous testing at the Chang-eok Tteok shop and manufacturing plant to enhance the flavor made me feel, 'This product will succeed.'"

Chang-eok Tteok shop is located in Gwangju Metropolitan City. It is well known as the 'sold-out tteok' shop, having appeared 48 times on home shopping and selling out every episode. Its main products include pumpkin injeolmi and Dongbu glutinous rice cake. MD No explained, "For the Pumpkin Injeolmi Soboru, we went through dozens of tests to achieve a chewy texture and a naturally savory taste without sweetness," adding, "Chang-eok Tteok even produces rice cakes specifically for bread products, putting great effort into maintaining the original quality."

As much care was given to the product's cross-section and packaging as to its taste. The idea was to make it visually appealing as well as delicious to the palate. He said, "Having worked as a bread MD for over three years, I felt that the cross-section of the bread when cut in half must be as appealing as the taste to captivate consumers," and added, "We paid a lot of attention to shaping the rice cake so that the castella crumbs and the rice cake's appearance are clearly visible when the Pumpkin Injeolmi Soboru is cut in half."

The result was a huge success. Chang-eok Tteok bread received rave reviews as 'flawless in taste' during a taste evaluation by the head office sales managers (OFC) before launch, and after release, it caused a frenzy of orders from store owners. The initial production volume, based on 20,000 units per day, has now increased by 350%.

MD No's goal is for Chang-eok Tteok bread to remain in the GS25 bread category for a long time. He expressed his ambition, saying, "We will add new products such as Dongbu Glutinous Rice Cake Bread within the year to grow it into a mega trend," and "Eventually, I want to take Chang-eok Tteok bread overseas to places like Mongolia and Southeast Asia, making it easy for people to experience Korean food culture through tteok."