Emart "Strawberries Surpass Milk... Undisputed Winter Submission Fruit"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As strawberries reach their winter peak season, the number of customers seeking them has surged, surpassing even milk, a daily essential.

Emart announced on the 3rd that strawberry sales reached 13 billion KRW in December last year. This figure far exceeded 10 billion KRW in sales for December last year.

The popularity of strawberries is clearly reflected in the major product sales rankings for December this year. While strawberries ranked 9th among Emart’s major products in 2018, they rose to 5th place last year. This year, they went further, surpassing milk, a daily essential, and climbed to 4th place behind wine, ramen, and beer.

In particular, among more than 30 types of Emart fruits, strawberries account for over 30% of sales, making them the overwhelming number one fruit. Even when combined, ‘gamgyul (2nd place, 14.3% share)’ and the popular Shine Muscat grape ‘podo (3rd place, 11.7% share)’ do not match the share of strawberries.

This year, convenience fruits that can be easily eaten without peeling are gaining popularity. Shine Muscat, which can be eaten with its skin like strawberries, has grown by more than 90% compared to last year, enjoying great popularity. On the other hand, apples and pears, which have skins that make them inconvenient to eat, saw sales drop by nearly 10% each.

The strategy of diversifying strawberry varieties has also been effective. In 2018, Emart’s strawberries were mainly the ‘Seolhyang’ variety, but since the end of 2019, through variety diversification, the share of premium strawberry varieties such as ‘Kingsberry,’ ‘Geumsil,’ ‘Arihyang,’ ‘Janghee,’ and ‘Jukhyang’ has significantly increased this year.

This year, a new variety called ‘Merry Queen’ will also be introduced. The Merry Queen variety has higher sweetness and almost no sourness compared to regular strawberries, making it highly popular among young customers with young children. Its firm fruit is also characterized by resistance to easy bruising.

Meanwhile, in line with the strawberry craze trend, Emart will hold a ‘Strawberry Sanghoe’ event for one week from the 7th to the 13th. ‘Strawberry Sanghoe’ is a concept that differentiates store operations by creating a retro atmosphere and offering various varieties exclusively at Emart offline stores.

At this Strawberry Sanghoe, six varieties of strawberries will be showcased through variety diversification. In addition to the representative variety Seolhyang, premium strawberries such as Janghee, Geumsil, Kings, Arihyang, and the new variety Merry Queen will be sold at discounted prices.

Jeon Jinbok, Emart’s fruit buyer, said, “Strawberries have gained great popularity this year, truly marking the ‘strawberry golden age.’ We will continue to secure various varieties so that customers can enjoy fresh and diverse types of strawberries.”

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