Cold Snap Amid COVID... "Friends, Let's Meet 'Online' This Christmas"

Market Kurly, Mac and Cheese for Home Parties.

#Office worker Kim Jin-kyung (32) decided to have an 'online gathering' with friends on Christmas as the spread of COVID-19 and a severe cold wave were forecasted. Each person decorated their background with Christmas vibes at home and prepared a single serving of party food to chat and play games through an online screen. To prepare for this, Kim ordered pasta meal kits and party supplies through 'online grocery shopping.'

◆Home Party and Online Party Boom

On Christmas Eve, the 24th, 'home parties' and 'online parties' are popular. As the COVID-19 situation worsened, it became difficult to have noisy gatherings with several friends, and with news of a severe cold wave reaching minus 14 degrees Celsius, more people are having home parties with family or preparing food individually to meet friends they haven't seen in a long time via platforms like Zoom. Consequently, meal kits for party foods including steak are gaining popularity.

Emart reported that sales of Korean beef sirloin, sparkling wine, and Christmas decorations increased by 90.5%, 46.4%, and 30.6% respectively compared to the same period last year. The unique steak event that started the day before also received a hot response. An Emart official said, "Last year, 9,000 packs of 'Tomahawk steak' sold out early during the year-end season. This year, we expect higher demand for home parties, so we increased the prepared quantity by 50% to 14,000 packs."

Online orders for ingredients for home parties have also surged. Market Kurly's meal kit sales this month increased by 131% compared to the same period last year. Pasta sales rose by 410%, showing the largest increase, followed by barbecue at 282%, gambas at 158%, and risotto at 131%, with home party-tailored products gaining popularity. Special winter dishes such as sukiyaki increased by 196% and mille-feuille nabe by 57% in sales.

Lotte Hotel Seoul, Christmas Cake.

◆250,000 Won 'Christmas Cake' Reservations Sold Out

Reservation delivery services, where famous restaurants and hotel bakeries deliver freshly made products by 7 p.m. on the same day, are also popular. A Market Kurly official said, "As many people switched to home parties this month, demand for these newly introduced products has steadily increased."

Reservations for major hotel Christmas cakes were mostly closed early. The Chosun Palace's 'White Tree Special Cake,' priced at 250,000 won, closed reservations on the 19th. Seoul Shilla Hotel also closed cake reservations for the 24th and 25th in mid-month. Lotte Hotel Seoul had already closed Christmas Day cake reservations by the end of last month. A hotel official said, "Since people look for more special items when having home parties instead of grand dining out, we paid more attention to cake variety and reservation methods this year."

Joseon Palace, Christmas Cake.

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