CU "Convenience Store Side Dish Sales Increase 50% as Home Meals Rise Due to COVID-19"

The customer is shopping at CU.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) resurges and demand for home-cooked meals increases, more consumers are turning to convenience stores for side dishes.

CU analyzed major product sales for about two weeks from August 16 to 30, when the spread of COVID-19 intensified, and found that sales of side dishes sharply increased as more people stayed home due to social distancing measures.

CU's side dish sales grew by 45.7% compared to the previous month, showing the highest growth rate among all products. This figure is about twice as high as the 20.5% sales growth rate recorded from August 1 to 15, before the COVID-19 resurgence.

Looking at sales trends by product, basic side dishes such as jangjorim (soy-braised beef), kkaennip (perilla leaves), and dried radish strips showed the highest sales index at 53.8%, followed by ham and sausages at 34.6%, fresh meat at 27.9%, canned goods at 27.3%, and kimchi at 21.4% growth rates.

Due to COVID-19, with more time spent at home for remote work and online classes, families are eating together more often, and to reduce the frequent effort of preparing side dishes or meals, many are purchasing side dishes from convenience stores.

CU launched a side dish assortment set called 'Convenient Home Side Dishes' on the 1st.

In fact, side dish sales are overwhelmingly high at 36.4% in family residential areas, followed by 14.2% in one-room and officetel areas, meaning more than half of the sales occur in residential neighborhoods.

The side dish most purchased by home meal consumers was canned ham such as Spam, followed by small-portion kimchi, tuna, seasoned seaweed, whelk, gochujang samgyeopsal (spicy pork belly), canned mackerel pike, stir-fried sausage with vegetables, Osam Bulgogi (spicy stir-fried squid and pork), and seasoned perilla leaves, ranking among the top-selling products.

Additionally, as demand for quick meals increased, sales of home meal replacement (HMR) products also rose significantly, including rice bowl and soup dishes by 38.4%, chilled noodles (such as buckwheat noodles) by 37.0%, refrigerated instant meals (such as tteokbokki) by 25.1%, and soups, stews, and jjigae by 21.6%.

In response to this trend, CU decided to promptly launch the ‘Convenient Home Side Dish Set (3,900 KRW)’ on the 1st. This product is a simple side dish set combining six commonly eaten home side dishes: quail egg jangjorim, stir-fried sausage, black beans, fresh kimchi, stir-fried fish cake, and dried radish strips.

During September, a budget-friendly shopping discount event will also be held. A total of 20 products commonly eaten as home meals, including side dishes like black beans, beef jangjorim, seasoned perilla leaves, as well as tofu, kimchi, udon, tteokbokki, bacon, and sausages, will be sold at discounts of up to 33%.

Jung Seong-wook, head of the convenience food team at BGF Retail, said, “With growing anxiety about COVID-19 recently, more people are quickly and conveniently purchasing key food items at convenience stores near their homes. We will strengthen the products that consumers mainly seek through analysis of individual store sales data and expand related promotions to improve customer satisfaction and franchise store sales.”

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