"If You Have Money for Soju, Why Not Wine?"... 20s and 30s Deeply Into Convenience Store Wine

Sales Surge Again This Year... Emart24 Up 732.2%
Key Advantage 'High Accessibility'... Proprietary Brands Also Contribute

CU Wine Brand 'mmm!'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Office worker Choi Mo (33) has recently become deeply immersed in wine. A glass of wine after work has become an indispensable source of energy in his life. He also found a new interest in watching wine-related YouTube videos. Wanting to enjoy a different taste from the usual beer or soju, he purchased convenience store wine for the first time. Choi said, "With the money I would spend on 3 to 4 bottles of soju at a restaurant or bar, I can drink wine at home," adding, "I've been drinking it a lot these days."

According to the convenience store industry on the 30th, following explosive growth last year, wine sales continue to surge this month as well. GS25 reported that wine sales from the 1st to the 25th of this month increased by 100.8% compared to the same period last year. CU and 7-Eleven also saw increases of 163.1% and 221.9%, respectively, compared to the previous year. At Emart24, sales rose by 732.2% compared to the same period last year.

Recently, due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the solo drinking trend, convenience store wine has become very popular among young people. Additionally, the demand for wine gift sets increased during this Lunar New Year holiday, contributing to the sales growth. In fact, South Korea's wine import volume has more than doubled over the past decade. Last year, the top countries of origin for imported red wines were Chile, France, the United States, Italy, and Spain, in that order. For white wines, France, Italy, Chile, the United States, and New Zealand were the leading sources.

The biggest advantage of convenience store wine is its high accessibility. Lee Mo (27), who lives in Seocho-gu, said, "I recently bought wine at a convenience store to drink with my girlfriend," adding, "It was nice to have a variety of wines available at a nearby convenience store." Office worker Park Mo (31) said, "I tried buying wine during a convenience store wine event last year," and added, "Since then, I often use it when I don't feel like going to a large supermarket or specialty store late at night."

Convenience stores launching their own wine brands also contributed to the sales increase. GS25's private label wine series 'Number' and 'Nature Sound' are very popular. CU launched the wine brand 'mmm! (Eum!)', and Emart24 introduced 'Como (COMO)', a private brand product priced under 10,000 won. Although 7-Eleven does not have a separate private brand product, it sells Lotte's signature wine 'Trivento Reserve' as an exclusive product.

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