With the Spread of Value Consumption... Lunar New Year Gift Trends Have Also Changed

Emart Low-Carbon Certified Apple and Pear Mixed Set.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Recently, as the trend of value consumption has spread, Seol gift sets embodying ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) values have gained great popularity.

According to Emart on the 30th, from the 16th of last month to the 24th of this month, total sales of organic fresh gift sets increased by 42.8% compared to the same period last year. The low-carbon apple and pear set rose to 2nd place in fruit gift set sales rankings with a 43.7% sales increase compared to the same period last year. The low-carbon Cheongdo half-dried persimmon set, launched for the first time this year, sold over 1,500 sets. Sales of organic processed food gift sets such as sesame oil and olive oil also increased by 132.6%.

Low-carbon agricultural technology is a farming method that induces greenhouse gas reduction and provides customers with ethical consumption choices through agricultural water management systems such as reduced fertilizer use, reduced energy consumption for agricultural machinery and heating, and rainwater recycling. Emart expanded the number of low-carbon and organic sets to about 30 types this year, developing low-carbon Shine Muscat, low-carbon Cheonhyehyang mixed sets, and organic sesame oil sets for Seol. This is an increase of about 30% compared to last year.

Use of eco-friendly packaging materials for Seol gift sets has also been expanded. Peacock livestock and seafood gift sets introduced eco-friendly ice packs made from water and starch, and all Peacock seafood sets and six premium refrigerated meat sets replaced packaging boxes with paper cooling boxes. Peacock seasoning and canned gift sets used soybean oil ink on packaging boxes, and seasoning set products utilized moisture-separable labels and easily detachable plastic lids. For canned sets, internal packaging that holds products securely was changed from plastic to paper.

Convenience store CU launched a campaign this year where customers who did not receive +1 promotional products could donate them, and CU would match the donation quantity through a matching grant method. From the 24th of last month to the 20th of this month, about 100 customers participated in donations during the Seol gift set sales period. BGF Retail added CU’s donated products to the customers’ donated items and delivered Seol gifts worth about 10 million KRW to the Central Senior Protection Agency.

An industry insider said, “As value consumption prioritizing healthy living, sustainability, and the environment expands, sales of low-carbon and organic sets are increasing significantly,” and added, “We will continue to participate in value consumption activities that emphasize environmental and social values and introduce various products.”

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