Convenience Store and Alcohol Industry Launch Customized Soju and Beer Snacks... Joint MD Collaboration

GS25 Launches Customized Side Dishes for Each Alcohol Type
MDs Collaborate Intensively for 3 Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Convenience store GS25 is launching customized side dish products tailored to different types of alcoholic beverages such as soju and beer.

GS25, operated by GS Retail, announced on the 16th that it will carefully select and introduce side dishes that pair best with beer and soju in collaboration with alcohol brands ‘Budweiser’ and ‘Ddakjoheun Day’.

Looking at GS25’s side dish product sales data, the side dish category showed a 29.4% increase compared to the previous year up to October this year. Due to the decrease in outdoor activities caused by COVID-19, the number of customers enjoying light drinking at home has increased.

Accordingly, GS25 worked with experts from each alcohol company for about three months to select the best side dishes for each type of alcohol and commercialize them. The customized cooking side dishes are expected to be the best recommendation for customers who have difficulty deciding on a menu.

On the 23rd of last month, the ‘Budweiser Platter’ was introduced as a menu and design collaboration with ‘Budweiser,’ the official sponsor of the EPL (English Premier League), as the perfect menu to enjoy beer while watching soccer. It is a platter that allows customers to enjoy various menus at once, including grilled sausage, meatballs, wedge potatoes, dip pizza, and boneless taco chicken. The product packaging features soccer field and beer designs. Priced at 4,900 KRW, it currently ranks third in the convenient side dish category and is receiving enthusiastic customer responses.

On the 13th of this month, the second alcohol collaboration product, ‘Ddakjoheun Budae Jjigae,’ was launched as a soju side dish customized product in cooperation with the soju brand ‘Ddakjoheun Day.’ A total of nine people, including three from the Ddakjoheun Day product development team and six GS25 alcohol and side dish product developers, gathered to select budae jjigae as the best soju side dish through consultation. Targeting solo drinkers, the included sauce can be mixed with hot water and cooked in a microwave for easy enjoyment. Despite using various ingredients such as two types of ham, frank sausage, ramen noodles, baked beans, and cheese, the price is 3,900 KRW.

Kim Dae-hyun, MD (Merchandiser) in charge of ready-to-eat foods at GS25, said, “We planned these products to offer customers customized side dishes themed around the most popular alcoholic beverages?soju, beer, and Makgeolli?and to provide a unique experience. We will continue to release differentiated side dishes exclusive to GS25 that are convenient yet taste as good as specialty restaurants.”

In the future, GS25 plans to introduce optimized customized side dishes for Makgeolli in collaboration with ‘Jangsu Makgeolli.’

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