"Poketmonppang Eopseoyo? Geureom Igeo Juseyo"... Convenience Store PB Bread Sales Up

Continued Shortage Drives Alternative Purchases
CU Bread Sales Up 85.1%
GS25 Up 35%, Seven Eleven Sales 1.7 Times Higher

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As more people visit convenience stores in search of Pokemon bread, sales of premium bakery private brands (PB) are also rising. The ongoing shortage of Pokemon bread has led many customers to purchase alternative products.

According to CU on the 13th, overall bread sales increased by 85.1% compared to the previous year from the 1st to the 10th of this month. During the same period, sales at GS25 rose by 35%, and at 7-Eleven by 70%. This is because convenience stores have become the main sales channels for Pokemon bread, and PB and collaborative bakery products aiming for bakery-level quality have driven the sales growth.

Looking at the bread sales rankings of each convenience store, the Pokemon bread "Return of Team Rocket Choco Roll" holds the top spot, while PB and collaborative bakery products occupy ranks 2 through 5. At CU, top-selling breads include Cookie Run Kingdom Butter Madeleine, Cream Cheese Bread, Milk Sand, and Witch Pancake. At GS25, the lineup includes Breadic Cream-filled Egg Castella, Yours Mochi Roll, Breadic Salt Butter Bread, and Breadic Pure Milk Stick Bread. At 7-Eleven, products such as Breadaum So Sweet Castella, Sweet Cream Bread, and Mont Blanc Pastry, which collaborated with the drama Twenty-Five Twenty-One, are closely chasing Pokemon bread.

Convenience stores are strengthening their premium and collaborative bakery product lines. CU is currently renovating its premium bakery brand Pain de France and has gained great popularity with a bread series launched in partnership with the mobile game Cookie Run Kingdom. GS25 started with the launch of three premium bakery products under the Breadic brand last year and has expanded its lineup to 53 items. The cumulative sales of Breadic exceeded 14 million units last year, accounting for 35.7% of total bread category sales. 7-Eleven has introduced a total of 15 products through its premium bakery brand Bredeum and plans to continuously expand its bread offerings in the future.

An industry insider from the convenience store sector said, "As bread meals have become more common recently, the growth of premium bakeries continues steadily," adding, "We plan to keep introducing breads of a new dimension going forward."

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