Rising Home Drinking Trend Boosts Unique Alcoholic Beverages... Emart Launches Sparkling Makgeolli 'Jipyeong Irang Irang'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and home drinking culture becomes widespread, more people are seeking unique alcoholic beverages.

In response, Emart announced on the 19th that it will launch a unique sparkling Makgeolli called 'Jipyeong Irangirang (750ml)', jointly planned and developed with the traditional Makgeolli manufacturer Jipyeong Brewery.

'Jipyeong Irangirang' is a new product born from Emart's 'Rediscovery of Taste' project. The 'Rediscovery of Taste' project is Emart's initiative to directly discover and introduce Korean food products, mainly developing traditional food items combined with consumer trends.

Emart collaborated with Jipyeong Brewery to plan and develop the concept, flavor, and design of 'Jipyeong Irangirang'. Emart's liquor buyers, marketing team, and Jipyeong Brewery conducted multiple sample tastings and recipe research together, resulting in the creation of 'Jipyeong Irangirang'.

'Jipyeong Irangirang' is a sparkling Makgeolli that differentiates itself from regular Makgeolli. It offers a refreshing carbonation when consumed, making it a low-alcohol beverage with 5% alcohol content, ideal for enjoying during hot summer days.

Targeted at young people who enjoy traditional liquor, it features a light and clean taste rather than heavy and thick flavors. The focus was on delivering a refreshing carbonation sensation along with a tangy and clean flavor. Lemon concentrate and herbs were added to provide a fresh acidity, and xylitol was used instead of artificial sweeteners to give a clean sweetness. When opened, bubbles form like champagne, maximizing visual refreshment.

The reason Emart developed and sells sparkling Makgeolli is that, with the rapid spread and popularization of home drinking culture due to COVID-19, more people are seeking new and diverse flavors instead of familiar tastes.

According to Emart's liquor sales in the first half of this year, while sales of soju and beer remained similar to last year, sales of wine, whiskey, and other liquors with various flavors have significantly increased.

For example, wine sales increased by 25%, with sparkling wines such as champagne, rather than the commonly enjoyed red wine, showing a sales growth rate of 72.8%. White wine sales also rose by 34.1%.

Despite its high price in the 10,000 KRW range, sparkling Makgeolli sales increased by 82% during the same period, and liqueurs like vodka, which can produce a wide variety of flavors depending on mixers such as on the rocks, tonic water, or fruit juice, saw a 27% sales increase.

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