"Only the Best of Rice Bowls and Salads Combined"... Hawaiian Food That Solves Lunch Worries [Cheongchun Report]

The Trend of 'Healthy Pleasure' for Enjoyable Health Care
Popular Hawaiian Traditional Food 'Poke' Rising
Low Calorie and Nutritious, Perfect as a 'Meal'

As the 'Healthy Pleasure' trend of enjoying health continues, the popularity of poke alongside salads is rising. Poke, a Hawaiian traditional dish, means 'to cut into cubes' in Hawaiian and is eaten with fresh fish and vegetables. In the past, poke was mainly consumed by women on diets, but as the movement toward prioritizing health continues, it is now enjoyed as a meal replacement regardless of age or gender.

Poke enjoyed by office workers too... a convenient and healthy meal

Poke. [Image source=Getty Images Bank]

Poke is characterized by serving a small amount of rice in a bowl-shaped dish topped with seafood, vegetables, and fruits to be enjoyed all at once. There are various opinions about the origin of poke, but it is generally believed to have started with fishermen living in the Hawaii region seasoning freshly caught fish with salt and seaweed.

Some people consider salads and poke to be the same food. However, the two differ from their main ingredients. While salads mainly consist of fresh vegetables, the main ingredient of poke is fish. Also, salads do not contain rice, but poke often includes brown rice.

The reason poke is especially popular is that a single bowl provides abundant protein, fat, minerals, and other nutrients, giving a strong feeling of fullness. Moreover, it is low in calories and high in nutritional value, making it a perfect choice for a healthy and delicious meal.

Office workers also enjoy poke. Yang (28), an office worker in Guro-gu, Seoul, said, "I often eat salads and poke. I want to eat quickly and rest during lunch, but if possible, I want to have a healthy meal. Salads and poke met this need."

However, the price of one poke meal is usually around 10,000 won, which is not cheap. Additionally, if toppings such as tuna, salmon, or chicken breast are added, the price increases further. As a result, it is not uncommon to see people buying ingredients and making poke at home. A cooking YouTuber with 580,000 subscribers recorded 1.77 million views on a tuna poke video.

The poke market size is expected to grow further... salad market size surpasses 1 trillion won

[Image source=Pixabay]

The popularity of poke seems to be related to the Healthy Pleasure trend that has been popular for several years. Healthy Pleasure means 'enjoying easy and pleasant health management in daily life.' The core is managing diet using healthy and delicious ingredients rather than starving oneself or eating tasteless vegetables.

This trend has also fueled a boom in poke startups. The poke franchise 'Poke All Day' opened its flagship store in 2020 and surpassed 100 stores in the first half of last year. Another poke franchise, 'Slow Cali,' launched in 2018, surpassed 130 nationwide franchise stores as of January 2024.

Meanwhile, as the culture emphasizing health and convenience spreads, the poke market size is expected to grow further. In this regard, the salad market size has already exceeded 1 trillion won. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the fresh convenience fruit and vegetable market, which can estimate the domestic salad market size, grew from 889.4 billion won in 2018 to 936.9 billion won in 2019, and to 1.1369 trillion won in 2021.