Lotte Mart, First Major Retailer to Introduce 'Choshinsen Dwaeji' Ultra-Fresh Pork

Within 3 Days After Slaughter... Sold for Only 8 Days
Product Launch at End of May... First Available at Select Seoul Stores and Online
Gradual Expansion to All Stores' Supply Chain

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] Lotte Mart is introducing 'super fresh pork,' which is within 3 days post-slaughter, maximizing freshness through direct purchase. This is the first time a major retailer has launched super fresh pork.

On the 14th, Lotte Mart announced that it will expand from its experience in direct auction of Korean beef to pork. In 2019, Lotte Mart sold approximately 340,000 pigs, and this year plans to directly purchase 5,000 pigs, accounting for 1.5% of that number.

Lotte Mart plans to launch the ‘3-day pig’ product by the end of this month, meaning it takes 3 days from slaughter to table. The initial product will be sold in limited daily quantities at some stores in Seoul and online. The supply will be gradually expanded with the goal of supplying all Lotte Mart stores within the year. After purchase, primary processing is done, and the next day the product is delivered to Lotte’s Fresh Quality Innovation Center, then displayed in stores on the third day after slaughter.

They focused on minimizing distribution time to reduce loss of pork juice. Direct purchases are limited to female pigs graded 1 or higher, and to maintain optimal freshness, the pork is displayed and sold in stores within 3 days post-slaughter. For the best taste, it is sold only up to 8 days after slaughter. Generally, when pork is supplied through existing meat processing companies, it takes about 7 days from slaughter to store display, but with direct pork auction, it is possible to display in stores within 3 days post-slaughter, reducing the time by more than 4 days.

The typical price of pork belly is about 2,000 KRW per 100g, and super fresh pork is priced about 20% higher at approximately 2,200 KRW per 100g. However, Lotte Mart plans to price super fresh pork at about 90% of prices in other channels.

This initiative is based on the know-how accumulated through participation in direct Korean beef auctions. Last year, Lotte Mart secured the qualification to participate in Korean beef auctions. Since January last year, the livestock team MD (Merchandiser) directly purchased raw materials, buying a total of 2,243 heads only at Eumseong and Bucheon wholesale markets throughout 2019. Up to April this year, 1,200 heads were purchased. They report cost savings of over 1 billion KRW last year through improved product yield via direct Korean beef auctions and the Fresh Quality Innovation Center.

Also, breaking the stereotype that only branded Korean beef handles grades '1+' or higher, the retailer independently prepared and held events, and was able to improve quality and differentiation by wet-aging Korean beef purchased directly from the wholesale market in dedicated cold aging rooms, and by producing Korean beef rib meat with the rib bones removed from Korean beef ribs.

Jongho Park, Head of Fresh Division at Lotte Mart, said, “Through direct pork auctions, we want to offer customers the most delicious pork,” and added, “We will further strengthen the competitiveness of offline stores through continuous development of tasty meat products.”

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