"No Rice Thief Needed"... CU Launches Renewal of Ready-to-Eat Meals

Master PB Brand PBICK Expands into Ready-to-Eat Meals
Value-Focused "Deuktem" Series...Strengthening the "Bapdoduk" Line

CU, a convenience store chain operated by BGF Retail, has embarked on a renewal to strengthen the competitiveness of its ready-to-eat meal category. Through the "PBICK The Kitchen" and "Deuktem" series, the company has enhanced product quality while improving value for money.

CU announced that starting on the 24th it will fully implement a "reboot" strategy to overhaul its ready-to-eat offerings across the board.

As dining-out prices continue to rise, demand for reasonably priced single meals is growing rapidly. According to the Korea Consumer Agency, restaurant prices in Seoul in December last year rose by up to 6.4% year-on-year. In line with this trend, CU's ready-to-eat meal sales increased by 26.1% in 2023, 32.4% in 2024, and 17.1% in 2025 compared with the previous years, maintaining double-digit growth every year.

Pibik The Kitchen and Deuktem Launch Ready-Meal Series at CU Convenience Store

The centerpiece of this renewal is "PBICK The Kitchen," which extends CU's master private brand "PBICK" into the ready-to-eat meal segment. The aim is to realize a "properly prepared single meal" and thereby strengthen its fundamental competitiveness.

The renewal will be driven by two pillars: "PBICK The Kitchen" and the value-focused "Deuktem" series. PBICK The Kitchen will be subdivided by concept into lines such as "Bapbanchanban" (rice and side dishes), "Bapdoduk" (rice thief), and "Deopbap" (rice bowls), with a total of 29 products to be rolled out sequentially.

"PBICK The Kitchen Bapbanchanban" features a two-tier lunchbox structure that separates rice and side dishes, with a higher proportion of side dishes. Rice balls and gimbap also differentiate themselves by emphasizing fillings rather than rice. The "Bapdoduk" line is a product range that uses appetite-boosting "kick" ingredients such as perilla-oil kimchi, chopped Cheongyang chili anchovies, soft-boiled egg soy marinade, and pollack roe mayo as main toppings, and will include items like the Cheongyang Soy Sauce Bulgogi Lunchbox and the Soft-Boiled Egg Soy Sauce Big Triangular Gimbap. The "Deopbap" line focuses on a single popular side dish, offering rice-bowl lunchboxes topped mainly with spicy fried chicken, Hamburg steak, chicken karaage, grilled chicken breast, and more.

CU also plans to introduce an additional "PBICK The Kitchen Premium" line in April, featuring more upscale side dish assortments.

The value-oriented "Deuktem" series is composed of products priced around 3,000 won, such as the "Ham Cheongyang Deopbap Deuktem" (3,300 won), which contains minced ham and Cheongyang chili peppers; the "Original Gimbap Deuktem" (2,200 won), prepared with a hearty basic combination of ham, crab sticks, simmered tofu, eggs, and more; and the "Spicy Soy Sauce Fish Cake Triangular Gimbap" (1,100 won).

Lim Hyunggeun, Head of Merchandising at BGF Retail, said, "As expectations for convenience store ready-to-eat meals have risen, we have carried out a full-scale renewal to strengthen both quality and value for money," adding, "Going forward, CU will continue to raise the bar in the convenience store ready-to-eat meal market, based on its differentiated private brand competitiveness."