[K-Food Hidden Hero] "Convenience Meal Brand 'Soban' Renewed, Hearty Like Mom's Home-Cooked Meals"

⑨ Im Iseon, Senior MD of Convenience Foods at Seven Eleven

[Asia Economy Reporter Im Hye-seon] Following large supermarkets and e-commerce, convenience stores are rapidly growing as a major channel for Home Meal Replacements (HMR). According to 7-Eleven, total HMR sales at convenience stores increased by 22.4% compared to the previous year. By category, refrigerated HMR such as rice bowls, stews, and side dishes grew by 23.6%, while frozen HMR like fried rice and dumplings rose by 16.1%.

Im I-seon, Senior MD of the Convenience Food Team at 7-Eleven, said, "Convenience store HMR is frequently sought by single-person households for dinner and late-night snacks. The products are easy to prepare and portioned perfectly for 1-2 person households, making them optimized for those who want to save time and labor." In fact, an analysis of 7-Eleven’s HMR sales this year showed that the evening time slot (6 PM to 10 PM) had the highest growth rate at 24.1% compared to the previous year. Sales also increased by 25.3% in single-person household-dense commercial areas.

On the 14th, 7-Eleven completely renewed its HMR brand ‘Soban’ and strengthened its categories. ‘Soban’ is a comprehensive HMR brand launched by 7-Eleven in 2018, offering menus optimized for 1-2 person households. Currently, it operates about 20 products including stews, rice bowls, side dishes, and meal kits.

Senior MD Im explained, "Following the significant growth of the convenience store HMR market after COVID-19, we enhanced the taste and quality of products through the Soban renewal. Considering the Korean traditional soup-and-rice (탕반, 湯飯) culture where rice is always accompanied by soup, we selected stew as the first product for the Soban renewal." This product was developed over a total of four months in collaboration with the excellent small and medium-sized food company Mijeong. Using carefully selected domestic ingredients, the taste and quality were improved, and the amount of solid ingredients was increased to more than twice that of the previous product (before renewal). In particular, the heat treatment time was reduced by 20%, preserving the original taste and texture of the ingredients to deliver a home-cooked flavor.

‘Soban Korean Pork Kimchi Stew’ is made by boiling kimchi fermented with domestic napa cabbage and Korean pork, while ‘Soban Green Onion Yukgaejang’ is richly boiled with broth made from beef bones and brisket, adding green onions, taro stems, and beef. Senior MD Im said, "Starting with these two stews, we plan to sequentially renew and launch the current Soban products. We will continuously release products that can be enjoyed heartily like homemade meals made by mothers, further strengthening product competitiveness."

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