"As Overseas Travel Expectations Rise" ... 'In-flight Meal' Lunchboxes Popular at Convenience Stores

Emart24 Expands New Products Featuring Characteristics of Countries Like Prague, New York, and Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As vaccine rollouts expand and expectations for the resumption of overseas travel rise, the popularity of convenience store lunchboxes inspired by in-flight meals is also increasing.

According to Emart24 on the 13th, sales of two in-flight meal lunchboxes launched last month (In-flight Meal Sensibility New York Edition and In-flight Meal Sensibility Prague Edition) increased by 42% in the first week of this month compared to the previous week. Sales of the two products showed a 10-20% increase week-over-week during the 2nd to 4th weeks of May.

With the recent acceleration of vaccine administration, expectations have heightened that overseas travel will be possible starting this summer, leading to a significant increase in customers seeking in-flight meal lunchboxes since June, according to Emart24.

The in-flight meal lunchboxes showed the highest sales growth rate particularly in office districts, indicating strong demand among office workers. Comparing the recent two weeks (May 27 to June 9) with the first two weeks of May (May 5 to 18), Emart24’s lunchbox sales in office districts grew by the highest rate of 106%, followed by residential areas (73%), academy districts (62%), and entertainment districts (14%).

This month, Emart24 also launched the 'In-flight Meal Sensibility Korea Edition,' conceptually based on bibimbap that one might have eaten on a flight returning to Korea. The lunchbox includes rice topped with stir-fried pork, carrots, bean sprouts, zucchini, spinach, egg garnish, and mushrooms, accompanied by tube gochujang and sesame oil.

Moon Jeong-in, buyer of Emart24’s Fresh Food team, said, "As expectations for overseas travel rise, customers are increasingly seeking lunchboxes with the fun concept of in-flight meals. We plan to continue introducing in-flight meal lunchboxes tailored to the characteristics of different countries."

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