The Trend is Wine... Chuseok Gift Landscape Changes Popular Snacks

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As the number of consumers seeking wine increases, the landscape of the alcoholic beverage market is also changing. Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the rise of 'home drinking' and 'solo drinking' cultures has led to a surge in popularity for beverages with lower alcohol content than soju and whiskey.

According to the distribution industry on the 3rd, as the number of consumers seeking wine has significantly increased, the preferred side dishes have also changed. CU's analysis of paired purchase items by alcohol type last month showed that the products most frequently purchased alongside wine were cheese, refrigerated desserts, and biscuits, in that order. This was markedly different from soju and beer, where the most common paired purchases were refrigerated side dishes, instant noodles in containers, and lunch boxes.

In particular, the average price of the top 1 to 5 items with high paired purchase rates alongside wine reached 9,820 KRW, nearly twice the average price of paired purchase items with beer and soju (5,120 KRW). Considering that mid-priced wines in the 10,000 to 30,000 KRW range account for about 80% of convenience store wine sales, it is analyzed that premium side dishes costing about half the price of the wine are being paired.

Accordingly, CU plans to continuously introduce premium side dishes that pair well with wine, such as cheese, smoked salmon, fruit platters, and sausages, ahead of the autumn and winter seasons when wine sales increase.

As wine consumption has greatly increased due to COVID-19 and other factors, the distribution industry has also strengthened wine products in this year's Chuseok gift sets. Emart announced that wine sales priced over 100,000 KRW from January to August this year increased by 30.3% compared to the same period last year. Sales of wines priced between 800,000 and 900,000 KRW rose by 411.9%, and those over 1,000,000 KRW increased by 85.5%.

Therefore, this Chuseok, Emart increased the volume of wines priced over 100,000 KRW by 20% compared to last year and diversified product offerings by newly launching sets such as the 'Flower Basket Art Wine Set.' Due to these changes, Emart reported that sales of high-priced wine gift sets over 100,000 KRW during the Chuseok gift set pre-order period grew by 200% compared to last year.

Additionally, during the Chuseok gift set pre-order period, Shinsegae Department Store's wine sales increased by 81.7% compared to the previous year. Lotte Department Store reported that alcohol sales in last month's Chuseok gift sets increased by 21% year-on-year, with strong wine sales contributing to the overall growth in alcohol sales.

A distribution industry official explained, "This year, due to COVID-19 and prolonged rainy seasons, customers have significantly increased consumption of low-alcohol beverages at home while refraining from company dinners. This trend is expected to continue, so the industry plans to expand wine selections and also increase the range of side dishes that pair well with wine."

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