CU, Rising Wine Popularity Boosts Demand for Cheese... Expanding Premium Imported Cheese Nationwide

A customer is looking at wine and cheese at a CU store in Seoul. (Photo by BGF Retail)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As the popularity of convenience store wine increases, the variety of side dishes that customers look for at convenience stores is also diversifying.

CU announced on the 28th that, after examining the paired purchase items by alcoholic beverage category throughout September, while the paired purchase items for soju and beer were similar in order of refrigerated side dishes, instant noodles in containers, and lunch boxes, the items with a high paired purchase rate with wine were cheese, refrigerated desserts, and biscuits.

In particular, the average price of the top 1 to 5 items with a high paired purchase rate with wine reached 9,820 KRW, about twice as high as the average price (5,120 KRW) of paired purchase items with beer and soju.

Considering that mid-priced wines in the 10,000 to 30,000 KRW range account for about 80% of convenience store wines, this means pairing premium side dishes worth about half the price of the wine.

In response to the increasing number of customers seeking premium wine side dishes, CU is gradually expanding nationwide the premium cheeses such as Aperif cheese, cheese portion mix, and smoked cheese discs, which were limitedly released in some regions last July, and will additionally launch two types of Apollo fruit cheese (6,900 KRW / Apricot Almond, Mango Melon).

The two types of Aperif cheese and smoked cheese discs are small-portion cheeses imported from famous cheese-producing regions, the Netherlands and France respectively. Since they have almost no characteristic pungent cheese smell, even cheese beginners can enjoy them deliciously, and they pair well with any type of wine.

Apollo fruit cheese features a soft texture and a balanced sweetness, bitterness, and saltiness, made with Australian cream cheese topped differently with dried papaya, apricot, coconut, almonds, and tropical fruits such as high-sugar mango and melon according to flavor. Its strong sweetness makes it a good match for red wines with strong tannins.

CU will hold a 2+1 event on these five products from the 1st to the 11th of next month so that customers can enjoy premium cheese at a more affordable price.

Sehye Won, MD of the Beverage and Food Team at BGF Retail, said, “CU plans to continuously introduce premium side dishes that go well with wine, such as cheese, smoked salmon, fruit platters, and sausages, ahead of the fall and winter seasons when wine sales increase.”

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