"Why Line Up When You Can't Get It Anyway?" Convenience Stores Boom as 'Dujjonku' Craze Drives Surging Sales

"Dujjonku" Craze Drives Convenience Store Lookalikes
CU Sells 8.3 Million Dubai Concept Products Cumulatively
GS25 Second-Generation Dubai Desserts Approach 1 Million Units
Seven-Eleven and Emart24 Desserts Rank Among Top Sellers
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The dessert "Dubai Chewy Cookie (Dujjonku)," a Korean reinterpretation of Dubai chocolate, has become so popular that it is in short supply at major retailers. Convenience stores are also benefiting from this trend, with their own private brand (PB) products featuring similar concepts enjoying a surge in demand.

Dubai Chewy Cookie.

According to industry sources on January 15, CU, a convenience store chain operated by BGF Retail, launched "Dubai Chewy Glutinous Rice Cake," a dessert similar to Dujjonku, on October 15 last year to capitalize on the Dujjonku craze. In just about three months, up to January 12, 1.8 million units were sold. This product has consistently ranked as the most popular search term on the store’s commerce application, Pocket CU, and sells out immediately upon arrival at stores.

Other desserts in this category, such as "Dubai Choco Brownie" and "Dubai Chewy Macaron," are also enjoying popularity, bringing the total cumulative sales of Dubai concept products at CU to 8.3 million units. A CU representative stated, "Dubai dessert products with unique convenience store ideas have been so well received that they repeatedly sell out and are restocked." Starting today, CU is strengthening its lineup by adding the "Dubai Mini Towel Cake." This product sold out its initial batch of 40,000 units quickly after its launch on December 18 last year, and all 21,000 pre-order units available from January 5 to 10 also sold out.

GS25, a convenience store chain operated by GS Retail, also offers similar products, including two desserts-"Dubai Chewy Choco Ball" and "Dubai Choco Brownie"-as well as one chocolate and one ice cream. In the second half of 2024, GS25 reorganized its Dubai concept product lineup to focus on desserts, which previously included one chocolate, one milk, one ice cream, and one bread item. Among these, the "Dubai Chewy Choco Ball," launched in October last year, is the most popular, accounting for 35.5% of sales among the approximately 100 refrigerated dessert products currently offered at GS25. The second-generation Dubai dessert products have a sales rate of 97%, with cumulative sales approaching 1 million units.

Seven-Eleven, operated by Korea Seven, also launched a new product called "Kadaif Chewy Ball," which closely resembles Dujjonku, on January 1. Kadaif, the main ingredient in Dujjonku, is a thin, long noodle often used in Middle Eastern desserts. Seven-Eleven’s PB dessert sold 150,000 units in just over 10 days after launch, signaling strong demand. It ranked second in overall search volume on the company’s Seven App and accounted for about 10% of sales in both the "same-day pickup" and "pre-order" services.

In addition, Emart24, a convenience store under the Shinsegae Group, has been selling trend-based products such as "Choco Castella Kadaif Mochi" and "Choco Kadaif Mochi" since last month. Sales for these products increased by 81% in the second week after launch compared to the previous week, followed by increases of 55% in the third week and 18% in the fourth week, surpassing a cumulative total of 180,000 units sold within a month. These products currently rank first and second in Emart24’s dessert category sales. As a result, Emart24’s dessert category sales in December last year soared by 351% compared to the same period the previous year.

An industry insider explained, "Desserts sold at specialty stores are so popular among trend-sensitive consumers that they are difficult to obtain even with significant effort. As a result, convenience store alternative desserts, which offer more reasonable prices, guaranteed quality, and better accessibility, are gaining popularity."

Large supermarkets are also actively introducing ingredients as demand surges, with self-employed business owners making Dujjonku purchasing related supplies in bulk. Emart plans to start importing Kadaif noodles, the main ingredient, from Turkiye next month. Separately, sales of marshmallows-the main ingredient-at Emart and Traders combined grew by 253.1% from December last year to January 12 compared to the same period the previous year. Sales of pistachios and cocoa powder also rose by 187.2% and 98%, respectively.

Lotte Mart also saw sales of cocoa powder nearly double from December last year to January 13 compared to the same period the previous year, while sales of marshmallows and pistachios increased by 49.7% and 15.9%, respectively. Lotte Mart is also considering additional supply of "pistachio spread," the main ingredient in Dujjonku, through its existing suppliers.