Winter Convenience Store Map Transformed After 5 Years... Eomuk Declines, Gun-goguma Rises

6000 Roasted Sweet Potato Stores... 20 Times More Than 5 Years Ago
200 Instant Fish Cake Stores... Declining Every Year
Impact of COVID-19... Clear Preference for Takeout and Healthy Food

On cold winter days, convenience store winter snacks that used to warm up frozen bodies are undergoing changes. The once long lines for instant fish cakes have disappeared, and roasted sweet potatoes, which had a negligible market share, have become the trend.

According to convenience store CU on the 17th, the number of stores nationwide handling roasted sweet potatoes this year is 6,000, an increase of about 20% compared to last year (5,000 stores). Stores carrying roasted sweet potatoes started with 300 stores in 2017, increased to 1,500 stores in 2018, and surged to 5,000 stores in 2020. On the other hand, instant fish cakes, which were considered a representative winter snack five years ago, have shown a clear decline. This year, the number of stores handling instant fish cakes is 200, down 75% compared to 800 stores in 2017. In 2017, the number of stores selling instant fish cakes was nearly three times that of roasted sweet potatoes, but this has dramatically reversed in just a few years.

This trend is also confirmed by sales figures. GS25 investigated the sales growth rate of winter snacks from the 6th to the 15th, when the weather became truly cold, compared to the previous period (October 27 to November 5). Roasted sweet potatoes (55.8%) showed the highest growth rate among all categories, followed by instant fish cakes (46.8%), bungeoppang (28.7%), and steamed buns (27.9%).

The industry views the preference for 'takeout' and 'healthy food' that emerged during COVID-19 as the cause of the shift in convenience store winter snacks. Instant fish cakes require customers to remove their masks and eat on-site, whereas roasted sweet potatoes are easy to package, allowing sales without restrictions during the COVID period. Additionally, among the main customer base of convenience stores, the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), a 'healthy pleasure' trend that considers health even in small snacks has surged, rapidly expanding the territory of roasted sweet potatoes during the COVID period. In fact, the number of stores handling roasted sweet potatoes nearly tripled from 1,500 in 2018 before the outbreak to 4,000 in 2020, while stores handling instant fish cakes sharply declined from 700 to 480.

The increase in store owners prioritizing operational efficiency due to high inflation and rising labor costs has also had an impact. The fish cake cooker used to prepare instant fish cakes is larger than other cooking devices, taking up a lot of space in the store and incurring high electricity costs when operating. In contrast, the roasted sweet potato machine is compact, easy to place in the store, and has the advantage of being able to cook other foods such as bungeoppang.

An industry insider said, "Domestic convenience stores are generally about 10 pyeong (approximately 33 square meters) in size, so they cannot bring in multiple cooking devices at once and must choose and focus each year," adding, "A few years ago, instant fish cakes, which could be eaten hot inside the store, were the most popular choice, but after COVID, the trend has completely shifted to snacks like roasted sweet potatoes and steamed buns that are easy to package."