The Best Snack for Solo Drinkers and Home Drinkers is 'Convenient Meals'

Snackable Side Dish Market Grows 5x in 2 Years
Expansion Beyond Daesang and Dongwon Brands
Dumplings Rank No.1 in Frozen Ready Meals Sales

[Asia Economy reporters Choi Saeng-hye, Lee Seung-jin] As the number of single-person households increases and the trends of home drinking and drinking alone spread, the popularity of frozen anju (side dishes for alcohol) convenience foods is also heating up. According to Nielsen Korea on the 13th, the domestic frozen anju convenience food market size increased fivefold from 19.5 billion KRW in 2016 to 96 billion KRW in 2018.

It is estimated to have rapidly grown to a scale of 150 billion KRW last year. In particular, until a few years ago, refrigerated anju products such as jokbal (pig’s trotters) that could be easily enjoyed just by opening the package were popular, but recently, various types of 'cooked anju' have gained popularity. Frozen anju convenience foods have established themselves as a new trend. GS Retail announced that sales of frozen anju convenience foods increased by 69.9% year-on-year from September to December last year.

From 2016, when the concept of anju convenience foods first appeared, until 2017, some brands such as Daesang’s 'Anjuya' and Dongwon’s 'Simyashikdang' monopolized the market, but recently, as the market has expanded, the number of brands has diversified.

In November last year, GS Retail’s meal kit brand 'Simply Cook' partnered with Shinsegae Food’s 'Olban' to launch 'Simply Cook×Olban Dongpayuk' (braised pork belly). As of the 6th, it ranked 4th among popular frozen convenience foods during late-night hours at GS25, establishing itself as a popular anju. This product is packaged in a 200g size, perfect for drinking alone, and can be easily prepared using a microwave.

Among companies, Daesang and Dongwon account for 75% of the total market. Sales of Daesang Anjuya, which sells 20 products including 'Jikhwa Bulmakchang' (grilled spicy beef intestines) and 'Jikhwa Boneless Chicken Feet,' continue to increase, but its market share decreased from 70% in 2017 to 50% in 2018. Dongwon Simyashikdang, which sells 14 products such as 'Boneless Spicy Chicken Feet' and 'Beef Intestines' at convenience stores, holds about a 25% market share in the anju convenience food market.

The popular items during late-night hours at convenience stores have also changed. As consumers increasingly seek cooked + anju-type foods, the sales proportion of frozen convenience foods, including frozen anju convenience foods, has increased. GS Retail analyzed sales by time last year and reported that sales from 8 PM to 2 AM accounted for 56.2% of total sales. Sales also increased by 47.9% compared to the previous year. CU and 7-Eleven also reported that sales during the same late-night hours accounted for 50.5% and 45.2% of their total sales, respectively.

The top-selling frozen convenience food was dumplings. GS Retail announced that CJ CheilJedang’s 'Bibigo Wang Gyoza' ranked first in sales among frozen convenience foods during late-night hours. At 7-Eleven, dumpling products such as 'Gohyang Mandu' and 'Bibigo Wang Gyoza' also dominated the top sales rankings. Currently, the frozen dumpling market size has grown from about 439.9 billion KRW in 2016 to about 452.6 billion KRW in 2018.

CJ CheilJedang’s frozen dumpling sales also jumped from about 170 billion KRW in 2016 to about 200.6 billion KRW in 2018. The market size for cooked frozen convenience foods excluding dumplings, such as hot dogs, pizza, chicken, and pork cutlets, grew from about 463.7 billion KRW in 2016 to about 698.6 billion KRW in 2018.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.