Early Heat Sparks Bingsu Boom... 500 Billion Won Hot 'Ice War'

This Year’s Bingsu Market Size Expected to Reach 500 Billion Won, Up 100 Billion from Last Year
Industry Launches Various New Bingsu Products and Strengthens Delivery Services
Popular Items Include Jjinbing, Ice Top, Mango Bingsu...Sales Surge

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] As an early heatwave suddenly arrives, making spring seem meaningless, shaved ice is selling like hotcakes. With this summer’s record-breaking heat forecasted, a fierce battle for the 500 billion KRW market has already begun.

According to Lotteria on the 14th, sales of the shaved ice "Jjinbing" increased by 35% in the past week compared to the previous week. This is thanks to more customers seeking shaved ice due to the hotter weather. Jjinbing is a nostalgic-style red bean shaved ice featuring generous portions and toppings that perfectly complement the chewy rice cake, and it is Lotteria’s ambitious summer release. Since it was launched on the 28th of last month, it has been selling like hotcakes practically from the moment of release.

Sales of Dalkom Coffee’s shaved ice also surged. The total weekly sales of shaved ice, including "Dalkom Grapefruit Shaved Ice" and the single-serving "Fresh Grapefruit Cup Shaved Ice," increased by 15% compared to the previous week. In particular, the newly launched "Fresh Grapefruit Variation" series, consisting of four types?Fresh Grapefruit Mojito, Grapefruit Earl Grey Iced Tea, Dalkom Grapefruit Shaved Ice, and Fresh Grapefruit Cup Shaved Ice?has been very popular. The series is characterized by allowing customers to enjoy trendy summer fruit grapefruit in various ways according to their preferences.

A representative from Dalkom Coffee explained, "A fan base has formed around the best-selling menu item 'Honey-mong,' which uses fresh grapefruit, and preference for grapefruit during the summer season has steadily increased, leading to the launch of this new menu. We believe that interest in health has risen due to COVID-19, and with the weather getting hotter, customers have come to love grapefruit shaved ice."

Cafe Droptop’s signature snowflake shaved ice "Ice Top," launched on the 23rd of last month in six varieties, is also receiving high consumer response along with the heat. Droptop analyzed sales data for two weeks immediately after the Ice Top launch and found that sales increased by 211% compared to the previous week. Droptop explained that the heatwave effect, as well as the recent introduction of delivery services amid the COVID-19 situation, has led to more customers enjoying shaved ice conveniently at home, boosting sales.

Ice Top is a menu that consistently enjoys high popularity every year due to its abundant toppings and unique flavors. This year’s Ice Top maintains the same price as last year but features a 20% increase in the amount of various toppings such as gelato, injeolmi (Korean rice cake), dalgona (Korean honeycomb toffee), and marshmallows, making it more abundant. Considering diverse customer preferences, the lineup includes three new shaved ice types reflecting trends?corn cheese, brown sugar dalgona, and 925 Coffee & Cookie?as well as three renewed steady-seller shaved ice flavors: mango, whole red bean, and berry berry.

Meanwhile, due to the hot weather and increased delivery demand, the shaved ice market size is expected to grow to 500 billion KRW this year. The market, which grew from around 300 billion KRW in 2018 to 400 billion KRW last year, is expected to continue its growth trend this year amid forecasts of record-breaking heat. Moreover, with anticipated high delivery demand this year, companies are strengthening delivery services alongside launching various shaved ice products.

Hollys Coffee introduced four shaved ice menu items (red bean, chocolate, strawberry cheese, mango cheese). The chocolate shaved ice was developed in collaboration with the global chocolate brand Maltesers. Strawberry and mango shaved ice were topped with cheese toppings and powder to add a savory flavor. Tous Les Jours significantly increased the quantity and variety of shaved ice ingredients this year and added bread character chocolates on top of the shaved ice. The "Domestic Red Bean Injeolmi Shaved Ice" features large chewy injeolmi balls and sweet domestic red bean toppings over milk ice. Sulbing, noting that its delivery sales in March more than doubled compared to the same month last year, plans to strengthen its delivery service. New menu items such as "Saruru Pink Foam Sulbing" and four types of convenient meals called "Sulbing Meal" are also planned for delivery.

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