Sales Exceeding 60,000 Cans Per Day
Kars Followed by CU as 2nd Highest in Total Product Sales
Temporary Order Suspension Due to Popularity... Restocking from the 30th
CU's fresh lemon highball, launched on the 23rd, has surpassed the sales of top soju and imported beer products.
Convenience store CU, operated by BGF Retail, announced on the 29th that the 'Fresh Lemon Highball (500㎖)' ranked 2nd in overall product sales (excluding cigarettes) at CU, just under a week after its release, following Cass Fresh (500㎖).
The Fresh Lemon Highball entered the top 10 in overall product sales about two years after CU first introduced Ready-To-Drink (RTD) highball products.
CU was the first in the convenience store industry to launch RTD highballs in November 2022.
The Fresh Lemon Highball is the first fresh fruit highball developed domestically through a collaboration between CU and Buruguru over the past year. This product was inspired by the common practice of adding lemon when making highballs at home. Unlike typical canned alcoholic beverages, it features a full open tab like a can, so when opened, actual lemon slices float up along with the carbonation.
CU's Fresh Lemon Highball sells up to 60,000 cans per day. Thanks to this popularity, the initial supply of 100,000 cans distributed to nationwide logistics centers sold out within three days of launch, and an emergency additional production of 100,000 cans was fully ordered within a day. Last weekend, its sales were recorded to be more than three times higher than those of the top imported Japanese beer.
CU stores have already been experiencing nationwide shortages since last week. Production has not kept up with sales, causing order suspensions over the weekend, with restocking scheduled to resume on the 30th. Inventory checks are available through CU’s own app, PocketCU, where it ranks first in real-time search terms.
The popularity of highballs has continued since last year. In CU, other alcoholic beverages including highballs accounted for only 0.6% of total alcohol sales in 2022, but this increased to 3.7% last year. This figure surpassed wine (2.7%) and reached a level comparable to spirits (3.8%). Especially after the launch of the Fresh Lemon Highball this month, the sales share of other alcoholic beverages surged to 8.4%, exceeding wine (2.0%), spirits (3.0%), and even Makgeolli (7.5%).
Jang Juhyun, a product planner (MD) of BGF Retail’s alcohol team, said, "CU was the first in the industry to create a dedicated alcohol team, quickly reflecting the latest alcohol trends and actively launching differentiated products, resulting in the blockbuster item Fresh Lemon Highball." He added, "We will continue to solidify our status as a go-to place for alcohol by targeting diverse alcohol preferences with new concept products."
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