'National Fruit' Strawberry... From Premium Strawberries to 'Best Value' Buffets

Number One in Popularity Despite High Prices
Premium Strawberry Varieties Increase Every Year
Hotel Strawberry Buffets Offer Cost-Effective Courses
Semi-Buffet and ? La Carte Menus Also Appear

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Strawberries, ripened to a bright red and flaunting their beautiful appearance, have become the 'national fruit.' As people spend more time at home, their standards for taste have risen, leading to increased demand for premium fresh strawberries. Every winter, hotel strawberry buffets, known as cost-effective hotel vacations (a combination of hotel and vacation), are popular courses and will continue until spring in April.

Rising Popularity of Strawberries... Increased Demand for Premium Varieties

According to industry sources on the 10th, strawberry prices are currently higher than average years. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the average price of domestic strawberries was 2,067 KRW per 100g on December 14 and has stabilized at 1,563 KRW per 100g as of the 8th. However, this is about 7% higher than the average price (1,459 KRW). Wholesale prices also dropped about 23%, from 34,100 KRW per 2kg last month to 26,320 KRW on the 8th.

Despite the higher price compared to other winter fruits, strawberry demand remains steady. In fact, in Emart's December sales ranking last year, strawberries ranked 4th overall, following wine, ramen, and beer. The ranking jumped from 9th in 2018 to 5th in 2019, and rose one more notch this year. Among over 30 fruit varieties, strawberries account for more than 30% of sales. This is overwhelmingly higher compared to the 2nd place citrus (14.3%) and 3rd place Shine Muscat grapes (11.7%) within the fruit category.

As the popularity of premium varieties grows, large supermarkets are expanding their related product lines. Emart's premium strawberry share increased from about 15% of total strawberries in December 2018 to about 26% this year, an 11 percentage point rise. Emart introduced a new strawberry variety called 'Merry Queen' this year. Merry Queen has higher sweetness and almost no sourness compared to regular strawberries, and its firm fruit resists bruising. While Emart's strawberry varieties were centered on 'Seolhyang' in 2018, from late 2019, they diversified to include premium varieties such as 'Kingsberry,' 'Geumsil,' 'Arihyang,' 'Janghee,' and 'Jukhhyang.'

Hotel Strawberry Buffets Starting from 50,000 KRW

Strawberry Buffet Promotion at Hotel Seoul Dragon City

Hotel strawberry buffets, considered cost-effective hotel vacation courses, offer not only fresh strawberries but also a variety of visually pleasing strawberry desserts and simple meal options, and will be held until the end of April. Prices range from 50,000 to 80,000 KRW. However, due to the impact of COVID-19, some places have replaced traditional buffet formats with semi-buffets or afternoon tea sets that minimize guest movement.

Located on the 26th floor of 'Novotel Suites Ambassador Seoul Yongsan,' 'THE 26' offers a 'Strawberry Studio' buffet menu priced at 60,000 KRW per adult, featuring a special collaboration menu with 'Morinari Coffee,' one of Italy's top three coffee brands, and 17 popular desserts. Guests are served a welcome strawberry drink, and desserts including fresh strawberries, strawberry crunch, strawberry tarts, pastry fish-shaped buns, and snacks such as jjambbong (spicy seafood noodle soup) and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). The lounge bar 'Kings Vacation' continues its 'Wanna Eat Strawberries?' promotion with a 19+ concept, pairing sparkling wine with strawberries. It will operate with separate strawberry semi-buffet and strawberry tower set menus.

'The Lounge,' located on the lobby floor of 'JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul,' offers 'Salon de Strawberry with Barbie,' where guests can enjoy a variety of strawberry desserts. Highlights include fresh strawberries of the Nonsan Seolhyang variety, strawberry macarons, strawberry salad, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry chocolate, strawberry gazpacho, and strawberry sparkling wine cocktails. Additionally, savory shrimp sugar dishes, aglio olio pasta, and cheddar cheese tteokbokki are served. Prices are 55,000 KRW per adult on weekdays and 59,000 KRW on weekends and holidays.

Strawberry Dessert Menu at Walkerhill Hotel & Resort

Walkerhill Hotel & Resort, known as the originator of the winter strawberry buffet, will not hold a strawberry buffet this year for the first time in several years, instead offering a strawberry afternoon tea set menu. The 'Lovely Strawberry' promotion at Walkerhill's lobby lounge 'The Pavilion' features an afternoon tea set and desserts made with fresh seasonal strawberries. The afternoon tea set, available on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., includes strawberry cakes, strawberry tarts, macarons, mini sandwiches, salmon, and other finger foods, priced at 79,000 KRW for two adults. There are also ? la carte items such as strawberry bingsu (shaved ice), strawberry Einsp?nner coffee, fresh strawberry juice, sparkling wine, and fresh strawberry sets.

A hotel industry official stated, "Although strawberry prices are high, as with most hotels operating strawberry buffets, it is an annual event, so price is not a major issue. We will do our best to ensure customers have the best experience at every moment by focusing on quarantine and safety measures."

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