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| Customers hold steamed buns and baked sweet potatoes at a CU convenience store in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of BGF Retail |
By Kim Jae-heun
Convenience stores are enjoying brisk sales of various winter snacks amid the continued cold weather, according to industry officials Thursday.
They say men's favorite choices are steamed buns and fish cakes, while women favor baked sweet potatoes.
BGF Retail, an operator of the country's largest convenience store CU, said the sales of steamed buns and baked sweet potatoes skyrocketed by 350.6 percent and 32 percent, respectively, year-on-year.
In the same period, competitor convenience store, GS25, also saw its sales soar 158.1 percent (steamed buns), 32.5 percent (baked sweet potatoes) and 70.8 percent for its fish cakes.
"Steamed buns and baked sweet potatoes are Koreans' all-time favorite winter snacks. Our sales for both items at convenience stores grew larger this year, particularly because consumers have gone back to looking for classic snacks rather than something new," a BGF Retail official said.
The two firms adopted different sales strategies to attract customers.
CU collaborated with animation firms to launch special steamed buns with Pokemon and Keroro characters drawn on their packaging. GS25 introduced a variety of flavors for its steamed buns such as garlic curry, spicy cream chicken ribs and ham mozzarella cheese.
GS25 only uses 210 grams or higher Beni-Kirishima strain baked sweet potatoes from Japan that are popular for their rich and sticky sweetness.
"We have been using the Beni-Kirishima variety for our baked sweet potatoes for a while. It has gained huge popularity among female consumers. We will look more specifically into what customers want and analyze findings to offer differentiated products and promotions," a GS Retail official said.
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