Korean c-stores cash in on $2.2bn boxed meals market
The increasing number of single-person household population in South Korea has driven the demand for pre-packed meals, which has become a multibillion dollar market urging convenience stores to offer diverse and healthier options to keep up with the competition.
South Korea’s English newspaper The Korean Herald further reported that “dosirak”, the term for lunch box meals in Korean, has evolved from being quick, low-quality pre-packed meals to healthier yet affordable alternatives to home-cooked meals.
Convenience stores in Korea are keeping up with the demand brought about by changing demography in South Korea—more than 26 percent of the country’s population lives in one-person households, and is expected to grow to 34.3 percent by 2035.
Local convenience stores such as CU, GS25, and 7-Eleven have already cooked up strategies to attract customers as sales of lunch boxes increased an average of over 50 percent in 2015.
Korea Seven, local operator of 7-Eleven, has focused on serving quality rice in its 41,000 lunch boxed meals reportedly sold a day.
CU, Korea’s largest c-store chain, meanwhile, offers more variety and has introduced the best-seller ‘Double Big Table’, a ‘dosirak’ with nine different side dishes that change three times a week.
The Korean lunch box meals market is comparable to prepared meals trend going on for years in its neighbouring country Japan, according to Lee Na-ra, a 7-Eleven official.
“Japan, a country that faced demographic changes such as the increase of single-person households, low birthrate and an aging population before Korea, has the highest proportion of people who purchase home meal replacement products including lunch boxes at convenience stores over other retailers such as hypermarkets and department stores,” Lee said.
