"Square Apples and Purple Shine Muscat" ... Lotte Mart's New Varieties of Unique Fruits Gain Popularity

The Proportion of New Varieties Among Domestic Fruits Tripled in 3 Years
Limited Sales at All and Some Stores on Pepero Day, November 11

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Lotte Mart is exclusively introducing three unique new fruit varieties at offline stores: square apples engraved with heart shapes, tangerines as sweet as Shine Muscat grapes, and wine-colored Shine Muscat grapes.

According to Lotte Mart on the 9th, the proportion of new fruit varieties in domestic fruit sales has increased about threefold over the past three years from 2019 to this year. This is because "value consumption," where consumers purchase products based on preferences, has become a trend in the distribution industry, increasing demand for fruits with unique appearances and distinctive tastes and aromas that catch consumers' eyes.

For example, the "Golden Sweet Sweetel Tomato (500g)" first introduced by Lotte Mart in May last year sold about 10,000 packs in its first year and a total of 470,000 packs by October this year, maintaining a top position in Lotte Mart's fruit sales rankings.

Accordingly, since March this year, Lotte Mart has started developing new fruit varieties for a total of nine items including grapes, tomatoes, tangerines, and melons. Among these, three items?'Heart Square Apple (limited to 3,000 units, 7,990 KRW each)', 'Shine Tangerine (limited to 800 packs, 1.2 kg for 12,900 KRW)', and 'Violet King Grape (limited to 7,000 packs, 500g for 16,900 KRW)'?will be sold in limited quantities at all or some stores on the 11th to commemorate Pepero Day.

The Heart Square Apples grown in Chungju were covered with transparent acrylic boxes in a square shape about 40 days after fruiting, allowing the apples to grow into a cube shape. A distinct heart shape is also engraved in the center of the apple.

The Shine Tangerine is an ultra-high sweetness tangerine grown using a "mature tree transplantation cultivation" method, where only fruits with a sugar content of 13 brix or higher?higher than the average 10 brix of open-field tangerines?are selected through non-destructive sugar content sorting, and only the corresponding mature trees are separately selected and cultivated.

The Sangju Violet King (Red Sweet) grape is a rare variety with an annual production of less than about 20 tons. It is a new variety created by crossing the grape varieties 'Wink' and 'Shine Muscat,' characterized by a unique appearance where half of the grape berries are wine-colored and the other half are green. It belongs to the large fruit category with a sugar content of over 20 brix and berry size over 25g, and offers a harmonious sugar-acid ratio, allowing consumers to enjoy both sweet and tangy flavors simultaneously.

Jung Hye-yeon, head of the fruit team at Lotte Mart, said, "We prepared the new fruit variety event in response to consumer demand for unique products," adding, "In the future, we plan to introduce various unique premium fruits that delight both the eyes and the palate, such as long tomatoes and white strawberries."

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