Soared in the heatwave... Pocari Sweat's July sales up 37% YoY

Cumulative Sales Exceed 200 Million Cans This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Due to the heatwave arriving earlier than usual this year, Dong-A Otsuka's ion drink 'Pocari Sweat' has surpassed 200 million cans in cumulative sales this year. Previously, when cumulative sales reached 20 trillion won in 2018, about 6.5 billion cans were sold, which is enough to circle the Earth approximately 8 times if the cans were lined up.

According to Dong-A Otsuka on the 20th, the cumulative sales of Pocari Sweat up to the 17th of this month reached 213 million cans. This is a similar scale to the performance during the same period in 2018, when the number of heatwave days was at its maximum, with 220 million cans sold.

Sales revenue increased by 15% compared to the same period last year. In July, when the heatwave fully arrived, sales increased by 37% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 45 million cans. Dong-A Otsuka expects this month’s sales to continue rising rapidly, forecasting that this year’s performance will be similar to the record high in 2018.

Pocari Sweat sells better the hotter it gets. Especially this year, due to the early heatwave and mask-wearing, the perceived summer temperature has increased, accelerating the sales speed of ion drinks compared to previous years.

Wearing masks during hot weather raises facial temperature and humidity, preventing body heat from dissipating normally, which increases the risk of heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses.

Experiments conducted by Dong-A Otsuka’s Pocari Sweat Sports Science Team showed that when walking outdoors at temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, the skin temperature inside the mask rises by an average of 2 to 3 degrees, and facial humidity is more than twice as high as the average outdoor humidity.

The news that sufficient hydration helps prevent adverse reactions before and after vaccination also positively influenced ion drink sales. Since heat causes significant loss of body fluids, replenishing fluids to regulate body temperature is essential. Professor Lee Ki-duk of Myongji Hospital’s Infectious Diseases Department said, "For every 1 degree Celsius increase in body temperature due to fever, 500cc of body fluids are lost," adding, "Many people experience a rise in body temperature to 38-40 degrees Celsius after vaccination, so it is necessary to replenish fluids with water or ion drinks that help rapid hydration to compensate for the loss."

Since its market launch in May 1987, Pocari Sweat has shown steady growth, reaching 60 billion won in sales in 1993 and 70 billion won in 1994, surpassing 100 billion won in annual sales in 2004. In the beverage industry, brands with annual sales exceeding 100 billion won are called ‘mega brands.’ Currently, Pocari Sweat holds over 50% market share in the domestic ion drink market.

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