'HEYROO Cup Ramen' Sold at Don Quijote in Japan... CU's First PB Product Direct Export

Don Quijote Supplies 30,000 'HEYROO Cheese Flavor' Ramen
Park & Shop Sells 10 Differentiated Alcoholic Beverages Including Malpyo Black Beer

CU, a convenience store operated by BGF Retail, will directly export popular private brand (PB) products from Korean convenience stores to Japan and Hong Kong.

On the 29th, CU announced that it will supply PB products to Japan's Don Quijote and Hong Kong's ParkNShop without going through intermediary exporters. This is the first time a domestic convenience store has directly exported to overseas distribution channels.

After about a year of close business discussions with Don Quijote starting early last year, CU finalized the introduction of its PB products into the store. Don Quijote in Japan is a retail store where a wide range of products from groceries to pharmaceuticals can be purchased at low prices, boasting the largest scale discount variety store in Japan. It is a popular hotspot not only for Japanese locals but also for foreign tourists. While Don Quijote already carries popular Korean food and beverage items such as ramen, snacks, and alcoholic drinks, there has been no case of domestic convenience store PB products being sold there until now.

The product CU is exporting to Don Quijote is the 'HEYROO Cheese Flavor Cup Ramen,' which will be officially sold at over 450 locations across Japan starting in April. The initial export volume is about 30,000 units, and CU plans to increase exports and expand to various product categories depending on sales trends.

CU’s differentiated products will also enter Hong Kong’s ParkNShop this month. ParkNShop is the largest supermarket chain in Hong Kong, with about 300 stores. Recently, it has actively introduced K-products to the extent of setting up a separate Korean food and beverage section within its stores.

At ParkNShop, 10 types of CU’s craft beers and highballs, which have maintained steady popularity among domestic MZ generation consumers, will be sold. The craft beers include 6 varieties such as Malpyo Black Beer, Representative Wheat Beer, and Baek Jong-won Yesan Apple Beer, while the highballs include 4 varieties such as Cheongsin Highball, Kim Jeon Highball, and Andong Soju Highball. These will be available locally starting at the end of next month.

CU has previously exported various PB products such as ramen, snacks, and beverages to more than 20 countries including the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Mongolia, Vietnam, Malaysia, C?te d'Ivoire, and Kyrgyzstan. Starting this year, CU plans to expand the range of supplied products to various countries with an annual overseas export target of 10 million dollars.

Won Hwi-yeon, head of BGF Retail’s Global Trading Team, said, “The brand power of CU, the industry leader, and the competitiveness of its PB products are being recognized overseas, leading to continuous growth in export volume. We will foster convenience stores as a new export industry and actively support the overseas expansion of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises to promote mutual growth.”