Stay Luxurious at Home... 'Homesteak' Soars in Popularity

SNS and YouTube Spark Homesteak Craze
Fresh Easy Steak Sales Up 43% Year-on-Year
CJ Foodville Vips Delivery Steak Share Reaches 70%

Fresh Easy 'Black Label Steak'

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Recently, the number of ‘home steak enthusiasts’ who grill steaks themselves at home is increasing. Traditionally, steak was strongly perceived as a dish to be enjoyed at specialized restaurants such as steakhouses, but due to restrictions on dining out caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the recent spread of easy and delicious steak grilling methods through TV programs and YouTube, more people are enjoying steak at home. The content of YouTubers introducing various meat dishes and cuts, including steak, such as ‘Yuksikman’ with 480,000 subscribers and ‘Jeongyukwang’ with 450,000 subscribers, is also receiving very enthusiastic responses.

In particular, home steak is gaining popularity among younger generations because it is easy to share on social networking services (SNS). According to Instagram hashtags, posts related to home steak reach 12,000. Posts mentioning home steak on SNS have increased this year. According to the big data analysis platform SomeTrend (Vibe Company), social buzz related to home steak has increased by 29% this year compared to last year.

Accordingly, various products related to home steak are also being released. Representative among them are steak meal kit products that allow you to enjoy a splendid steak meal including not only meat but also garnishes (items served alongside food to enhance its appearance). According to meal kit specialist company Fresh Easy on the 15th, the ‘Black Label Steak’ is the most sold meal kit product and a representative menu. Sales from February to September this year, the period of the full-scale COVID-19 spread, increased by 43% compared to the same period last year.

A Fresh Easy official explained, "The Black Label Steak uses premium refrigerated meat, which tastes better than frozen meat products, and comes with prepared garnishes that allow for plating, making it possible to enjoy a splendid meal. Especially, the garnishes are carefully composed with attention to the color of each ingredient, making it popular among women in their 20s to 40s who like to share on SNS."

VIPS 'Yum Delivery'

CJ Foodville’s VIPS has also gained great popularity with its ‘VIPS Yam Grill Steak,’ introduced through its delivery service launched in August. This menu is a delivery-only item optimized from VIPS’s ‘Yam Stone Steak,’ which has been used by over 54 million customers since its launch in 2008. When grilled on the separately orderable mini brazier called ‘Yam Grill,’ you can enjoy a hot steak.

A VIPS representative said, "As the home steak and home party trends spread, steak and grill items such as steak and pork ribs account for about 70% of sales among the recently launched VIPS Yam delivery menu, showing their popularity. The mini brazier ‘Yam Grill,’ which allows you to enjoy the grill experience, is also popular." VIPS plans to develop the Yam Grill Steak as a signature menu in the delivery market.

As interest in home steak has increased, the food and distribution industries have also launched dedicated steak spices that enhance the flavor of steak, as well as steak-specific cooking appliances that make grilling steak easy. CJ CheilJedang introduced the steak-exclusive seasoning ‘Baeksul Steak Salt & Seasoning’ in August, and Emart Traders released the steak-specific cooking appliance ‘Sunhut Steak Master.’

To allow people to enjoy a luxurious meal at home like home steak, meat products are also diversifying. In particular, reflecting the characteristics of one- to two-person households, they are being released in small packages. Fresh Easy launched ‘One-Bite LA Galbi’ emphasizing convenience, which can be eaten in one bite, through a GS Home Shopping broadcast in February. As the name suggests, it is trimmed so that it can be eaten in one bite and only requires grilling without any additional preparation, making it convenient.

The types of meat sales are also diversifying to reflect the characteristics of one- to two-person households. Convenience stores are leading this change, supported by the growth of single-person households. Ministop introduced a meat vending machine that allows 24-hour purchase of meat products in September. CU convenience store has been selling fresh meat at about 200 stores in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and the metropolitan area since May.

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