"Chuseok Spent at Home"... Demand for Gift Sets, Wine Surpasses Gulbi

Belegros Pinot Noir Set (Photo by Shinsegae Department Store).

'Homechu' Trend Surpasses Growth Rates of Wine (52%), Steak (20%), and Gulbi (4.7%) Sets
Shinsegae Department Store Triples Famous Restaurant Sets Targeting Homechu Consumers and Introduces Burgundy Wine

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] Unique gift sets such as sirloin steak from a famous restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, apple mango, and Bordeaux wine are becoming the dominant gifts for the holidays. As the 'Homechu' trend?where people refrain from traveling home and spend the holidays with family at home?continues, demand for seasonal foods like Shine Muscat grapes and melons, as well as famous restaurant sets enjoyed at home, is rising, surpassing the sales of traditional holiday gift items like gulbi (dried yellow corvina), apples, and pears.

Shinsegae Department Store announced on the 8th that from the 13th of last month to the 6th of this month, the top growth rates in Chuseok gift set sales were wine (51.5%), steak (20.0%), and apple mango & Shine Muscat (27.0%). All of these recorded double-digit growth rates, far exceeding the performance of traditional holiday categories such as gulbi (9.7%), overall livestock products (6.6%), and overall fresh produce (4.7%).

The sales proportion has also increased year by year, with the 'Homechu' trend changing even the holiday table setting. In the case of wine, the Homechu trend of spending holidays at home firmly took hold last Chuseok, recording a high growth rate of 60.1%. Notably, the sales proportion accounted for 11.3% of total set sales, surpassing gulbi’s 6.2% sales share for the first time. Steak gift sets and seasonal fruits such as apple mango and Shine Muscat also showed sales proportions in the high teens within the meat and fresh produce categories until Chuseok 2019, but for the first time during last year’s Lunar New Year, they recorded sales proportions in the 20% range.

This Chuseok as well, these items continue to be popular, accounting for more than 30% of total meat and fresh produce set sales. In particular, steak’s sales proportion has surpassed that of Korean beef bulgogi and soup cuts, enjoying popularity comparable to grilled meat gift sets.

As the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs and the trend of spending holidays at home continues, the popularity of famous restaurant collaboration gift sets and wines that pair well with beef is expected to continue. Shinsegae Department Store stated, "We have tripled the number of popular restaurant collaboration products compared to last year and are offering various products targeting the 'Homechu' consumers, such as individually packaged steak cuts from direct-auctioned Korean beef."

Shinsegae’s restaurant collaboration products include 'Utender' and 'Seolloin' in Apgujeong-dong, and 'Uga' in Cheongdam-dong. This Chuseok, they are newly introducing the gift set from 'R Gogi,' a representative premium Korean beef restaurant in Cheongdam-dong. Representative products include 'Direct Auctioned Korean Beef Steak' (500,000 KRW), created by Shinsegae Department Store buyers who directly participated in the auction; 'R Gogi Rainy Special' (560,000 KRW), consisting of tenderloin and sirloin steaks; and 'Uga Aged Korean Beef Steak Set' (650,000 KRW), consisting of sirloin and sirloin steaks.

Premium wine products such as Burgundy wines are also newly introduced. Shinsegae plans to captivate wine enthusiasts by showcasing about 500 varieties of Burgundy wines, the largest scale in Korea, at 'Burgundy＆,' the first Burgundy wine specialty store in the industry.

The popularity of New World wines from the U.S., Spain, and other countries continues. The value-for-money wine set 'Kaiken Set' (50,000 KRW), introduced for the first time this Chuseok, sold out all prepared stock last weekend. ''Belle Gross Pinot Noir Set' (380,000 KRW) was also introduced for the first time this Chuseok and is attracting attention since its official sale began.

Choi Wonjun, head of food at Shinsegae Department Store, said, "Due to customers’ demand to safely spend the holidays at home, unique items such as steak, wine, and apple mango are surpassing sales of traditional items like gulbi and Korean beef bulgogi," adding, "We will continue to actively introduce customized products that align with customer consumption trends."

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