"Sudden Summer"... CU Launches Ice Beverage 'DellaFe' for the First Time This Year

Iced Drink Sales Continue to Increase Annually
Company's 'Delipe' Launches 23 Varieties Sequentially

The convenience store industry is rushing to launch iced drinks in response to the milder weather compared to usual years. Since iced drink sales are concentrated in the second and third quarters, the strategy is to quickly launch products to capture the market mood.

According to CU, a convenience store operated by BGF Retail, the year-on-year sales growth rate of the iced drink category has been steadily increasing: 18.1% in 2021, 11.8% in 2022, and 10.3% in 2023. In particular, about 80% of total iced drink sales occur in the second quarter (32.7%) and third quarter (43.8%).

In line with this, CU will be the fastest in the industry to sequentially introduce its own iced drink brand, Delaffe, starting from the 21st of this month. Delaffe is CU’s own pouch beverage brand, selling over 150 million units annually. This year, the Delaffe series will consist of a total of 23 products, including the functional beverage “Delaffe Plus,” which uses ingredients that help with health management, and tea variation products jointly planned and developed with the Korea Tea Sommelier Institute.

First, CU will sequentially release existing steady sellers such as Delaffe Black Americano, Sweet Americano, Hazelnut, Decaffeinated, Green Grape Ade, and Blue Lemon Ade within this month. Next month, the health-concept blended drinks containing functional ingredients, called “Delaffe Plus,” will be introduced for the first time. There are four types: Kiwi Banana Blended (L-theanine 250mg), Red Pomegranate Blended (Red Ginseng), Green Apple Plum Blended (Plum Extract), and Prune Blended (Indigestible Maltodextrin).

Tea variation drinks, made by appropriately blending fruit juice and tea, will also be released. These include three types?Rich Ceylon Tea, Grapefruit Uva Tea, and Lemon Earl Grey Tea?created after discussions with Jeong Seung-je, the first-generation tea sommelier and CEO of the Korea Tea Sommelier Institute. In addition, popular beverages previously available only at coffee shops, such as Caramel Latte and Vanilla Latte, as well as refreshing ade products containing fruit juices like watermelon, kiwi, and mango, are also set to be launched.

Jeon Min-jun, MD of the Beverage Food Team at BGF Retail, said, “We planned the functional beverage lineup Delaffe Plus in response to consumers’ demand for healthy drinks,” adding, “We will continue to introduce a differentiated Delaffe lineup that can lead beverage market trends as well as offer cost-effectiveness.”