The Newtro Wave Brought by BTS Dynamite... The Food Industry Is Also Deeply Engaged

Food Industry Launches Products Targeting MZ Generation Seeking New and Unique Experiences

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] When it comes to the hottest popular music these days, it is undoubtedly BTS’s “Dynamite.” This song, which reinterprets disco that swept the 1980s, set a record by reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s “Hot 100,” igniting the global “Newtro (New+Retro)” craze not only in Korea but worldwide. Not only the music but also the choreography, fashion, and cassette tape releases were enough to imprint “Newtro” as a trend among the MZ generation. The Newtro craze is spreading to the distribution and food and beverage industries as well. Products that reinterpret traditional ingredients with a modern sensibility are being released one after another, captivating the tastes of the MZ generation.

According to the related industry on the 3rd, Gongcha Korea recently launched “Black Sesame Milk Tea + Pearls” and “Black Sesame Smoothie” for the autumn season. By newly reinterpreting the traditional ingredient black sesame in Gongcha’s unique style, these products have gained great popularity immediately after release with their rich, nutty, and sweet flavors.

“Black Sesame Milk Tea + Pearls” is a menu featuring a rich and nutty black sesame base topped with black tea, chewy pearls, and smooth black sesame foam. The black sesame foam is made by adding black sesame to Gongcha’s sweet and slightly salty milk foam, boasting not only a smooth texture but also a rich flavor. Especially, if you enjoy the black sesame foam on top first and then mix the pearls and milk tea well with a straw, you can experience a fuller taste of the drink.

“Black Sesame Smoothie” offers a nutty and refreshing black sesame smoothie topped with black sesame foam, providing an even richer flavor and smooth texture. After stirring the black sesame smoothie and black sesame foam well, a single sip fills your mouth with the rich and smooth taste of black sesame.

In addition to the two black sesame items, new taro menu items “Taro Barun Milk Tea + Pearls” and “Taro Barun Cookie Smoothie” were also introduced. Both products have a purple taro base spread on the cup walls, allowing for a deeper taro flavor. The “Taro Barun Milk Tea + Pearls” offers a sweet and nutty taro milk tea with chewy pearls, delivering a smooth yet deep taro flavor, while the “Taro Barun Cookie Smoothie” adds crispy and sweet cookies for an enjoyable texture.

A Gongcha Korea official said, “These days, the MZ generation pursues new and unique things, and especially has great interest in Newtro,” adding, “Various brands in the food and beverage industry, including Gongcha, are actively conducting marketing to target the tastes of the MZ generation, who have emerged as the next-generation main consumers.”

Hite Jinro Beverage reinterpreted our traditional culture of drinking sungnyung (scorched rice water) or barley tea after meals and launched “Black Barley.” The black barley tea beverage “Black Barley” uses black barley, which has a rich taste and high nutritional value, as the main ingredient, differentiating it from existing barley tea drinks. It has received great responses from young consumers who are relatively unfamiliar with the post-meal barley tea culture, thanks to its rich and clean taste and drinkability like water.

Binggrae is gaining popularity by turning traditional ingredients familiar to Korean tastes into ice cream. Recently, it released “Bibibig The Prime Sweet Pumpkin.” Following the previously released “Bibibig The Prime Injeolmi” and “Bibibig The Prime Black Sesame,” which confirmed the popularity of traditional ingredients, this new product features sweet pumpkin with red beans, creating a perfect harmony and delivering a savory and rich flavor.

Dunkin’ introduced this month’s donuts for September using injeolmi, rice, and sweet potato. The new products include four types: “Chewy Injeolmi Donut,” “Nutty Rice Donut,” “Nutty White Rice Field,” and “Sweet Potato Mattang Churice.” They use traditional ingredients such as rice, sweet potato, black sesame, and yuzu, targeting the upcoming Chuseok season with flavors that appeal to all ages with their nutty taste.

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