CU Captures Mongolian Taste... Jajangmyeon Sales Surpass 80,000 Units in Three Months

Cumulative Sales of 200,000 Units for 3 Types of Noodle Dishes
Hot Bars Also Sold 180,000 Units Cumulatively

CU's Korean food items such as Jajangmyeon and Hot Bar, launched in Mongolian stores, are gaining popularity among local customers.

Convenience store CU, operated by BGF Retail, announced on the 16th that three noodle dishes?Jajangmyeon, ramen, and carbonara pasta?sold about 200,000 units within three months of their release at Mongolian stores. Converted to daily sales, this means an average of over 1,700 units sold per day.

Promotional material for Jjajangmyeon products sold at CU in Mongolia.
[Photo by BGF Retail]

By item, approximately 80,000 units of Jajangmyeon, 65,000 units of ramen, and 50,000 units of carbonara pasta were sold.

CU launched these three noodle dishes?Korean-style Jajangmyeon, ramen, and carbonara pasta?in December last year under the concept of global noodle cuisine. Recognizing that Mongolian local food culture is less diverse compared to Korea, CU chose a strategy to faithfully reproduce the original taste of the dishes rather than adapting them to local preferences.

These three products were so popular that all stock ordered by Mongolian stores sold out during the first week of release. On PocketCU, a local Mongolian app, searches to check the stock of these noodle dishes surged, keeping them ranked among the top search terms throughout the first month after launch. These products have also ranked high in noodle dish sales, surpassing local Mongolian products.

CU explained that this popularity is due to the rarity of places selling Jajangmyeon and ramen in Mongolia. The convenient preparation method?pouring the sauce over the noodles and heating them in a microwave?also contributed to their popularity.

Additionally, CU became the first in the Mongolian convenience store industry to sell the Korean convenience store staple Hot Bar last year, which has been well received by local customers. CU began test sales of Hot Bar in Mongolian stores in April last year and, following positive feedback, started regular sales in June.

The reason CU introduced Hot Bar to Mongolian convenience stores is that Hot Bar has high sales during the winter season in Korea. CU judged that Hot Bar could establish itself as a new convenience store food culture in Mongolia, where cold weather lasts for more than five months.

By March of this year, the cumulative sales of Hot Bar at Mongolian CU stores exceeded 180,000 units. This translates to an average of 15,000 units per month and about 500 units per day. Furthermore, it entered the top 10 in category sales within just one month of launch. CU plans to expand Hot Bar offerings and increase the proportion of Korean products across various categories by monitoring consumer trends not only in Mongolia but also in Malaysia and Kazakhstan stores.

Park Ju-beom, head of BGF Retail’s Mongolia TF team, said, "In line with the title of 'Global K-Convenience Store CU,' we are continuously introducing products tailored to global customers’ demands and strengthening local customization strategies. Going forward, CU will continue to focus on expanding the global K-convenience store network while actively leveraging K-food, which has high recognition in overseas markets."