CU Launches 'Vegetarian Series' Featuring Plant-Based Tuna

On the 18th, CU will sequentially launch the fourth series of vegetarian products using 'plant-based tuna,' the first of its kind in the industry.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] CU announced on the 18th that it will sequentially launch the fourth installment of its vegetarian series using the industry's first "plant-based tuna."

The vegetarian series is a convenient meal series designed to allow customers to easily experience vegetarian food at nearby convenience stores. Since 2019, CU has released more than 10 types of plant-based foods through the vegetarian series. From January to October this year, sales of the vegetarian series increased by 53.2% compared to the previous year.

Plant-based tuna is an alternative food that uses protein extracted from soybeans as the main ingredient to faithfully reproduce the savory and mild taste of tuna. CU added plant-based mayonnaise to the plant-based tuna to create a taste so similar that it is difficult to distinguish from regular tuna mayo topping. The plant-based tuna mayo topping is available in triangular kimbap, gimbap, and yubu sushi, and all products use 100% plant-based ingredients.

On the 23rd, CU plans to release the "Vegetarian Jeonju Bibim Triangular Kimbap" containing plant-based beef stir-fried chili paste. The vegetarian Jeonju bibim topping uses plant-based chili paste without animal ingredients such as fish sauce, mixed with minced alternative meat to preserve the texture and umami of meat.

A BGF Retail official said, "As vegetarianism has established itself as a mega food trend beyond a minority preference, more consumers are seeking vegetarian concept products even at convenience stores," adding, "We will continue to break the prejudice that vegetarian food is difficult and picky, and consistently introduce a vegetarian series that is popular, delicious, and nutritious."

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