Gift Sets That Don't Shrink Despite the "Non-Face-to-Face Chuseok"

The photo is not directly related to the article content.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The food and distribution industries, which engage in an annual "plastic war" over holiday gift sets, have encountered an unexpected obstacle. The rise of "contactless holidays" due to COVID-19 has imposed limitations on efforts to reduce plastic usage.

According to industry sources on the 7th, efforts to reduce gift set waste are in full swing ahead of the upcoming Chuseok holiday. Measures include switching packaging materials to eco-friendly alternatives and rearranging products that were previously spaced apart to minimize the use of plastic and paper.

Under the current "Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources," holiday gift sets classified as composite products must have the product occupy at least 75% of the total packaging box volume. Manufacturers who violate this rule face fines of 1 million KRW for the first offense, 2 million KRW for the second, and 3 million KRW for the third and subsequent offenses. In response, some companies like Lotte Food have reportedly had their CEOs personally instruct the simplification of Chuseok gift set packaging.

However, the industry's eco-friendly initiatives have been unexpectedly hindered by the "contactless holiday" trend brought on by COVID-19. Since most gifts are now delivered rather than handed over in person, there are limits to packaging simplification. To minimize shocks during delivery, a certain amount of cushioning material is necessary. Additionally, some products like certain fruits must be spaced apart to maintain freshness.

An industry insider explained, "Various efforts continue to reduce gift set waste, such as considering shapes that deviate from the square form to allow products to be packed more densely, but the surge in delivery demand due to COVID-19 makes some compromises unavoidable. If any issues occur during delivery, the company is ultimately responsible, so a certain amount of cushioning material must be used."

Another obstacle to simplifying gift set packaging is the increased demand for high-priced gift sets as consumers seek to express their feelings through gifts during contactless holidays. Higher-priced gift sets tend to have excessive packaging, and consumers prefer products with elaborate and diverse packaging materials when selecting premium gift sets. In fact, during this year's Lunar New Year, sales of gift sets priced over 200,000 KRW increased by 79.8% at E-Mart and by 212.8% on SSG.com.

Meanwhile, the industry plans to reduce gift set waste in various ways this year. CJ CheilJedang will remove yellow plastic lids from 80-90% of Spam gift sets sold this Chuseok, significantly expanding from last year's application to only two types of Spam gift sets. Dongwon F&B also plans to increase the number of gift sets without plastic lids. Lotte Food will reduce packaging materials and introduce eco-friendly sets using paper packaging instead of plastic.

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