Capture the Home Drinking Trend Increased by COVID-19... Alcohol Marketing Soars

The 'Homsul' Culture of Enjoying a Light Drink at Home Spreads Mainly Among 2030s
Online Events Reflecting 'Homsul' Culture... New Products and Small-Size Packages Released

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Office worker Park Ji-yeon (27) finishes her remote work at 6 p.m., prepares dinner, and ends her day with a light beer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been spending more time at home while working remotely and has been refraining from company dinners and gatherings with friends. Park said, “At first, I felt awkward drinking alone at home, but now I often enjoy ‘home drinking’ because I don’t overdrink like at company dinners and can drink without worrying about others’ eyes.”

With the prolonged COVID-19 situation, the culture of ‘home drinking’?lightly enjoying a drink at home?is spreading mainly among consumers in their 20s and 30s. Social distancing has led to online classes and remote work, reducing company dinners and gatherings and increasing time spent at home. In fact, searching the keyword ‘home drinking’ on Instagram yields about 45,000 related posts.

In response to the ongoing ‘home drinking’ culture, the liquor industry is making every effort to capture the ‘home drinking tribe’ by launching products targeting this trend, developing small-sized packages, and holding online events.

According to the industry on the 30th, OB Beer’s flagship brand ‘Cass’ is running a cooking contest called ‘Jipdwaeji Challenge - Guwolking’ for ‘homebodies’ who stay at home for long hours while participating in social distancing. Composer ‘Don Spike,’ known as a ‘meat lover,’ serves as the ambassador for this challenge. Participants can join by posting their own tips for grilling pork deliciously or enjoying refreshing beer, which pairs perfectly with pork, on their social network service (SNS) with the hashtag #JipdwaejiChallenge. Cass planned this event to bring small joys to consumers enjoying various ‘home cooking’ and ‘home drinking’ lifestyles during extended ‘homebody’ life. Among the participants, a ‘meat grilling master’ will be selected, and the chosen master will receive a ‘Guwolking’ certificate directly produced by Cass.

Additionally, Cass recently launched the ‘Cass X Sunday Cheese Ball’ limited shopper bag edition, allowing consumers to enjoy ‘home drinking’ while gaining exclusive goods. Released in collaboration with Kakao IX, this limited edition includes 12 cans of Cass (355 ml), Sunday Cheese Ball Original Slim (35 g), and a canvas shopper bag printed with the cute character Ryan. It is available at major nationwide supermarkets such as E-Mart, Homeplus, and Lotte Mart.

Diageo Korea recently renewed and launched two 200 ml small-sized Scotch whisky products of ‘Johnnie Walker’ to allow young consumers who enjoy ‘home drinking’ to enjoy them without burden. The new products are ‘Johnnie Walker Red Label (200 ml)’ and ‘Johnnie Walker Black Label (200 ml).’ This reflects young consumers’ desire to lower the barrier to whisky and enjoy ‘home drinking’ with various types of alcoholic beverages. Heineken Korea introduced a limited package including a 150 ml mini can and a dedicated mini glass. The package, first released in July last year, gained attention on SNS for its cute mini-sized can and package design. This package is perfect for consumers who want to enjoy a light drink at home but found the existing volume burdensome.

Baesangmyun Brewery’s sparkling rice wine ‘Sim (心)’ recently entered GS25 convenience stores, greatly improving consumer accessibility. Previously sold only at large supermarkets and regular restaurants, ‘Sim (心)’ has expanded its touchpoint with young ‘home drinking tribes’ through this GS25 entry. This product has gained great popularity among the so-called MZ generation (Millennials to Generation Z) through word of mouth for its naturally sweet fruit flavor and smooth finish. It contains moderate carbonation, offering a clean taste that pairs well with various foods.

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