Character and Web Drama Production
Natural Marketing for Rice Cooker Purchase
The 'rice cooker company' Cuchen is conducting marketing aimed at the MZ generation to encourage them to "cook and eat rice at home." This is because single-person households in the MZ generation, who are accustomed to dining out, need to develop the habit of eating rice in order to purchase rice cookers. Cuchen produced a sketch comedy web drama centered around rice, which is streamed on their YouTube channel, and created a personified rice character to establish the ‘Mi(米)topia’ universe.
Cuchen web drama 'EatBAR' Season 2, 'The Solitary Gourmet' episode [Photo by Cuchen YouTube capture]
According to Cuchen on the 8th, the cumulative views of the web drama ‘Eat BAR Season 2’ reached 860,000. Compared to the 650,000 cumulative views of Season 1, consumer interest has increased.
Eat BAR Season 2, consisting of six episodes, began airing its first episode on November 24 last year and released one episode weekly, concluding on the 29th of last month. The web drama recreated situations frequently occurring in restaurants using MZ generation codes. Various episodes unfolded, from part-time job interviews to visits in the style of ‘The Solitary Gourmet.’ It also featured scenes where diverse rice dishes were prepared using different rice varieties with a Cuchen rice cooker at a ‘rice omakase specialty restaurant.’
A Cuchen representative said, “Eat BAR Season 2 recorded nine times more ‘likes’ compared to Season 1, which we evaluate as expanded communication with consumers,” adding, “Since the last episode of Season 2 was uploaded only about a week ago, the cumulative views are expected to increase further.”
This approach by Cuchen aims to increase intimacy with the potential customer base, the MZ generation. According to statistics from last year by Statistics Korea, the proportion of single-person households was 34.5%, the highest ever recorded. The single-person household ratio first exceeded 30% in 2019 and has been setting new records every year. As rice consumption gradually decreases and the growing number of single-person households prefer instant rice over cooking, Cuchen’s plan is to first familiarize people with the ‘culture of eating rice.’ Even if it does not immediately lead to purchases, the goal is to make consumers think of Cuchen when the time comes to buy a rice cooker due to marriage, moving, or other life events.
In addition, Cuchen carries out ‘rice-eating universe’ marketing through its online marketing channels such as Instagram. This includes the brand characters ‘Jinji (ZIN-Z)’ and the ‘Mi(米)topia’ universe. The character named Jinji, which is the honorific term for rice, has the concept of awakening from a deep sleep in ‘Mi(米)topia,’ the ‘utopia of rice,’ to protect the value of rice, which has become second priority to people due to the abundance of food. Cuchen is expanding the Mi(米)topia universe by adding other characters such as Jinji’s bodyguard ‘Seol Ik-tae’ and the influencer ‘Mac’ from the Mi(米)topia world.
In September last year, Cuchen also held a pop-up store at ‘Space Wadiz’ in Seongsu, Seoul. Space Wadiz is known as a so-called ‘hot place’ among the MZ generation. This was a distinctly different choice from previous events held at department stores or marts. They prepared missions such as solving quizzes, participating in games, and tasting pot rice made with Cuchen rice cookers to meet the MZ generation at eye level.
A Cuchen representative said, “We aim to expand communication touchpoints with the MZ generation by utilizing the Mi(米)topia characters,” adding, “We plan to strengthen the brand universe through various content and actively use it both online and offline.”
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