"Following Hanwoo, Sashimi Comes Next"…Marts Target Consumers with DIY Sashimi and Mart-Style Omakase

Emart DIY Aged Sashimi.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] Following the spread of home-cooked meal culture due to COVID-19, a craze for sashimi is rising after Korean beef. Large supermarkets are offering discounts on ‘DIY (do it yourself) sashimi’ that customers can slice at home in their preferred style, while also attracting customers with premium sashimi presented as ‘Omakase,’ a Japanese cuisine format of ‘chef’s special’ dishes.

According to the distribution industry on the 16th, Emart’s DIY salmon sashimi sales increased by 130% in 2022 compared to 2020. DIY flatfish sashimi sales also grew by nearly 130%. At Emart Traders, a warehouse-style discount store, DIY salmon sashimi sales rose by 27.9% compared to 2020, exceeding 20 billion KRW.

DIY sashimi is provided in fillet form, trimmed so that customers can cut it to their preferred thickness and size for dishes such as sashimi, sushi, and sashimi rice bowls. Emart analyzed that the spread of home meal culture and various ways to enjoy sashimi at home?such as sushi, marinated salmon, salads, and sashimi rice bowls?have been shared widely on social networking services (SNS), bringing attention to DIY sashimi. The reduced cost of slicing sashimi also contributed to its popularity by making it relatively affordable. Emart will hold a DIY sashimi festival from the 17th to the 23rd, offering up to 30% discounts on items like ‘My Way Salmon Fillet Sashimi’ and ‘My Way Red Sea Bream Skin Sashimi.’

At Lotte Mart’s Zeta Flex Seoul Jamsil branch, which opened a tuna sashimi specialty store last December, the ‘large supermarket-style Omakase’ is gaining attention. They introduced an ‘Order to Made’ system where chefs prepare the freshest daily kitchen-special sashimi according to customer preferences, reportedly seeing positive results. Customers can select sashimi cuts, thickness, and cooking styles such as sushi, sashimi, futomaki (Japanese seafood rolls), and hako sushi (pressed sushi) through an electronic menu.

Thanks to this new approach, Zeta Flex’s tuna sashimi sales last month increased by about 180% compared to the same period last year. Sales at the Zeta Flex sashimi corner also rose by more than 120%. The store analyzed that the introduction of a transparent glass cleanroom kitchen using a cold chain logistics system, installation of a ‘panorama aquarium,’ and ‘tiered aquarium’ helped boost customer trust and provide visual appeal, contributing to sales growth.

Lotte Mart Zetaflex sashimi tuna specialty store cleanroom and electronic menu board.

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