No.1 Place to Buy Convenience Foods is Large Supermarkets
Developing from Cost-effective Sushi to Popular Restaurant Menus
Large supermarkets and dawn delivery specialists are targeting consumers by offering convenient meals with taste and quality comparable to dining-out menus. In particular, meal kits collaborated with famous restaurant chefs have gained great popularity, emerging as the largest sales channel in the convenience food market.
According to the '2023 Processed Food Consumer Attitude Survey' by the Korea Rural Economic Institute on the 31st, last year, the place where consumers purchased convenience foods was highest at large supermarkets, followed by online shopping malls, small and medium-sized supermarkets operated by large corporations, neighborhood supermarkets, and TV home shopping.
For the most common instant cooked foods such as rice, soup, dumplings, and pizza, nearly half of the respondents (48.5%) said they purchased them at large supermarkets, an increase of 6.4 percentage points from 42.1% a year earlier. Online shopping malls also increased from 15.9% to 17.0%. On the other hand, during the same period, neighborhood supermarkets (17.9%→13.9%) and convenience stores (3.4%→2.9%) decreased.
'Increase in Sales through Dining at Home' Homeplus, Popular RMR Sales Increase up to 380%. [Photo by Homeplus]
In the case of meal kits and other convenience cooked foods, the purchase ratio at large supermarkets was even higher. Last year, the proportion of meal kits purchased at large supermarkets was 51.8%, up 6.8 percentage points from 45.0% the previous year. Meanwhile, the purchase ratio through other distribution channels decreased across the board. Online shopping malls slightly dropped from 22.0% to 21.1%, and responses indicating purchases at neighborhood supermarkets (10.6%→7.8%), convenience stores (3.1%→2.4%), and traditional markets (3.5%→1.4%) also declined compared to a year ago.
In fact, Lotte Mart's convenience food sales from January to May 25 increased by about 10% compared to the same period last year. Lotte Mart has strengthened its competitiveness in private brand (PB) products made with unique menus and recipes, as well as instant cooked foods. The PB brand 'Yorihada' Jeongseok Sushi (20 pieces, 19,900 KRW) is a representative product of Lotte Mart's instant cooked foods.
Using mullet in assorted and combination sushi, it is popular among customers who prefer seasonal seafood, recording the highest sales volume in the sushi product category from January to May. Yorihada's Uijeongbu-style Budae Jjigae (920g, 10,900 KRW) is the top-selling refrigerated meal kit product, enhanced with pollack broth, kimchi, and bean sprouts for umami flavor.
Lotte Mart's 'Seafood Yangjangpi' (19,990 KRW) was developed by a Chinese chef with over 15 years of hotel experience, delivering a taste close to authentic yangjangpi, with a portion size sufficient for 3 to 4 people. Popular items also include collaborations with famous restaurants such as 'Yorihada X Daehan Gopchang Small Intestine Hot Pot (800g)' and ''Yorihada X Darijip Tteokbokki (385g, 4,990 KRW)'.
Unique convenience food products also attract attention. A representative example is 'Osilmo Gimbap (Eggmani, Spicy Pork, Aged Kimchi Tuna, each 4,990 KRW)'. This product excludes cucumber as an ingredient for customers known as 'Osilmo' (a group of people who dislike cucumbers). 'Yorihada Royal Galbitang (900g, 8,990 KRW)' also uses pork ribs over 15 cm long, similar to those found in galbitang specialty restaurants.
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Homeplus operates a specialized store called 'Dining Street' that gathers about 1,000 types of meal kits and refrigerated/frozen convenience foods, selling around 120 restaurant meal replacement (RMR) products. As of the first quarter of this year, sales of 'frozen and refrigerated RMR' increased by 59% and 15% respectively compared to the same period last year, proving the popularity of RMR products.
'Chaesundang Shabu Shabu (845g)', launched in February last year, saw sales increase by about 21% as of March this year compared to the same period last year. This product faithfully reproduces the taste of dining at Chaesundang, using fresh vegetables and beef brisket to enhance umami. Hakoya's 'Hakoya Whole Cheese Tonkatsu (350g)' also surpassed cumulative sales of 260,000 units as of the 30th of last month. 'Ashley Original Whole Chicken (500g)' and 'Tudari Kimchi Fish Cake Hot Pot (653g)' are also popular products.
This month, Homeplus is selling about 30 types of meal kits, including 'Ibiga Jjamppong Soft Tofu (1025g)', 'Hearty Spam Budae Jjigae (120g)', and 'Camping Pocha Samjin Fish Cake Soup (770g)', each priced at 9,990 KRW until the 29th.
Dawn delivery specialist Oasis Market is also strengthening its convenience food product lineup. Oasis Market created the convenience food specialty section 'Matjip Geudaero' in November 2021, and recently, as convenience foods have emerged as alternatives to dining out, it has been expanding its RMR products. Oasis Market's convenience food products are gaining consumer preference by capturing not only taste but also health. In fact, the sales growth rate of 'Matjip Geudaero' products compared to the previous year recorded 30% in 2023 and 40% in 2024.
Popular products from Matjip Geudaero include ▲'Samwon Garden Thick Pork Tteokgalbi' made with special seasoning on Korean pork and Hanwoo beef ▲'Omadeng Real Busan Tteokbokki' made with Korean rice and Busan-style whole garaetteok ▲'Hongdae Jjukkumi' made with domestic seasoning without synthetic additives ▲'Emoi Beef Pho' flavored with patented fresh noodles and broth ▲'Changhwadang x Oasis Pyongyang-style Dumplings' filled with domestic ingredients.
In particular, 'Changhwadang x Oasis Pyongyang-style Dumplings' is an exclusive product launched through collaboration between Oasis Market and the popular restaurant Changhwadang. The existing product's ingredients were improved to use domestic pork, tofu, and chives, and the salt content was lowered to make it healthier.
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