Luxury Hotel Apple Mango Bingsu Prices Rise One After Another
Signiel Seoul 130,000 Won... Highest Price in Korea
Mango Retail Price 3,668 Won Each
Hotel States "Using Jeju-grown Apple Mangoes"
The average price of Apple Mango Bingsu at Korea's four major luxury hotels has surpassed 100,000 won. While mango prices have plummeted due to increased imports, luxury hotels have raised the price of mango bingsu every year, drawing criticism. However, the hotel industry argues that price hikes are inevitable due to the use of expensive Jeju-grown Apple Mangoes, as well as rising labor and logistics costs.
According to the hotel industry on the 28th, the average price of Apple Mango Bingsu sold at the four major luxury hotels?Signiel Hotel, Shilla Hotel, Westin Chosun, and Four Seasons Hotel?was 110,750 won. These hotels began selling bingsu made with premium Jeju-grown Apple Mangoes sequentially starting last month.
Apple mango shaved ice introduced this year at the Four Seasons Hotel. The Four Seasons Hotel has frozen the price of this shaved ice at 126,000 won. [Photo by Four Seasons Hotel]
The highest price among them was at Signiel Seoul, where this year's Apple Mango Bingsu costs 130,000 won, a 2.4% increase from last year's 127,000 won. Four Seasons Hotel is selling bingsu at 126,000 won, the same price as last year. Last year, Four Seasons Hotel raised the price by more than 30% compared to the previous year, ushering in the era of 100,000 won bingsu.
Shilla Hotel also surpassed 100,000 won this year. Last year, Shilla Hotel sold a bowl of Apple Mango Bingsu for 98,000 won but raised the price by 4,000 won this year. Westin Chosun was the cheapest among the luxury hotels at 85,000 won but recorded the highest rate of increase this year (8.97%).
Apple Mango Bingsu was first introduced by Jeju Shilla Hotel in 2008 as part of a 'local ingredient discovery' project. Jeju farmers produced Apple Mangoes, which were expensive and had low recognition, making it difficult to open sales channels, so they started selling them on bingsu. The taste of Jeju Shilla Hotel’s Apple Mango Bingsu quickly gained popularity, leading Seoul Shilla Hotel to add Apple Mango Bingsu to its menu in 2011, and it later spread to luxury hotels nationwide.
The price of Apple Mango Bingsu was only 27,000 won when Jeju Shilla Hotel launched it in 2008. Although prices gradually increased, it was around 60,000 won in 2021. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, 'small luxury' became a trend, demand surged, and prices soared dramatically.
Recently, as mango prices have sharply dropped, criticism has arisen over the annual price increases of bingsu. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, as of the previous day, the retail price per mango was 3,668 won, about 25% lower than the same day last year (4,913 won).
However, the hotel industry insists this is unfair. The Apple Mangoes used in these luxury hotel bingsus are Jeju-grown and have a significant price difference compared to imported mangoes. In fact, Jeju-grown Apple Mangoes sold online and offline cost about 10,000 won each, showing a large price gap with imported mangoes. A hotel industry official explained, "The purchasing team personally visits the Jeju production sites to conduct quality and sweetness tests on the Apple Mangoes used in bingsu," adding, "Only A-grade Apple Mangoes with a sugar content of 13 Brix or higher and a strong unique aroma are selected to maintain the bingsu’s taste." Another official said, "Since Apple Mango Bingsu was originally intended to coexist with related farms, the profit margin is practically close to zero," and added, "Recently, with rising inflation, nothing has escaped price increases, including supply costs and labor."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
