CU Fresh Lemon Highball Export Hits 1 Million Units... Cheers Overseas Too

Cumulative Sales of Fresh Fruit Highball Series Reach 13 Million
Over 500,000 Units Sold in Taiwan

CU, a convenience store operated by BGF Retail, announced on the 13th that its 'Fresh Lemon Highball' series has surpassed 1 million units in export volume. The fresh fruit highball series has exceeded a cumulative sales volume of 13 million units to date.

The three types of fresh fruit highballs (Fresh Lemon, Fresh Lime, Fresh Cheonggyul) introduced by CU since April differ from existing RTD (Ready-To-Drink) highballs by directly including real fruit ingredients in the product. A full open tab, which opens the entire lid like a can, is applied so that when the can is opened, the carbonation and actual fruit pieces float up.

CU's Fresh Lemon Highball exported to overseas markets. Provided by BGF Retail

The original product of the series, Fresh Lemon Highball, has sold about 10 million units as of last month, ranking second in sales revenue among all single alcoholic beverage products. CU explained that it is unusual for a differentiated convenience store alcoholic beverage to surpass traditional alcoholic beverages such as beer and soju and rank among the top in sales. Additionally, the follow-up products Fresh Lime Vodka Highball and Fresh Cheonggyul Mojito Highball have sold approximately 1.3 million and 1 million units respectively.

Due to the popularity of Fresh Lemon Highball, sales of other alcoholic beverages like highballs have also increased. From January to October this year, sales of other alcoholic beverages including highballs at CU nearly tripled (286.5%) compared to the previous year. The sales share of other alcoholic beverages within the total alcoholic beverage market also increased from 4.0% to 11.6%, which is higher than traditional liquor (7.1%) and whiskey (4.2%).

CU and the manufacturer Buruguru have been focusing not only on the domestic market but also on overseas exports. This is based on the judgment that domestic hit products can gain popularity overseas due to the high interest in K-food. From July to October, the three types of fresh fruit highballs were exported to Taiwan, China, Mongolia, and other countries, recording a cumulative export volume of 1 million units in just three months. In particular, 500,000 units have been sold cumulatively in Taiwan alone.

CU plans to continuously increase export volumes to countries currently supplied and also promote exports to overseas CUs in Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and other countries.

Jang Juhyun, product planner (MD) of the alcoholic beverage team at BGF Retail, said, "RTD highballs containing real fruit are unfamiliar overseas, and positive responses continue for the Fresh Lemon Highball series that came from Korea," adding, "CU will continue to solidify its position as a leader in the convenience store alcoholic beverage market through competitive products."