Emart's Nut Sales Up 41% in H1... "Also Gaining Attention as Weight Control Food"

Emart Roasted Almonds (Photo by Emart).

Increased Demand for 'Healthy Snacks' Nuts Due to COVID-19 Eating Culture
Enhancing Price Competitiveness through Direct Sourcing... Leading Quality with Domestic Roasting

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] Amid the rising demand for nuts due to the impact of COVID-19, Emart has significantly increased its direct sourcing volume of nuts.

Emart announced on the 11th that it will hold a 1+1 event for directly sourced 'Roasted Almonds (500g)' from the 15th to the 28th, selling them for 8,800 KRW.

The almonds sold this time are 'Extra Number One' grade of the 'Nonpareil' variety, known as the 'King of Almonds.' The origin is California, USA. California has ideal conditions for nut cultivation, such as a mild climate, fertile soil, and abundant sunlight, and is the world's largest and best nut-producing region, responsible for 80% of the world's almond production and two-thirds of the walnut production.

Emart is launching the almond 1+1 sale because the demand for healthy snack nuts continues to increase due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing Emart's sales for the first half of the year, nut sales from January to June increased by 41% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, the share of nuts in total fruit sales also rose by 2 percentage points from last year to 11.2%, surpassing 10% for the first time ever.

Imported almonds and imported walnuts, which account for more than 40% of Emart's total nut sales, recorded high growth rates of 59.6% and 39.4%, respectively, driving sales growth. This is attributed to the increase in home drinking and home cooking trends caused by COVID-19, which boosted demand for nuts as snacks and side dishes. It is also analyzed that the characteristic of nuts helping with weight control had an impact.

Emart established a dedicated overseas sourcing team in 2008 to strengthen MD competitiveness by bringing in excellent products from around the world at affordable prices and to meet the diversifying demands of customers. Detecting the increase in nut sales during COVID-19 in advance, Emart quickly increased its sourcing plan volume to secure supply. This year, Emart's planned sourcing volume for almonds and walnuts is 64 containers (1,280 tons) and 47 containers (893 tons), respectively, which is double the previous year's 30 containers (600 tons) and 23 containers (437 tons).

Emart directly sources raw materials in large quantities and then entrusts roasting to excellent domestic nut specialists to lower prices and increase freshness. Moon Ji-hye, Emart's nut buyer, said, "We planned the event by predicting and judging demand through data-based customer analysis in line with the accelerating digital distribution trend," adding, "We will continue to expand the variety of nuts to broaden product selection and strive to supply even better quality nuts."

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