Increased White Milk Consumption During Stay-at-Home... CU Launches Ultra-Low Price Milk Deal

The model is showcasing CU's Milk Deuktem.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] CU will launch HEYROO U-yu Deuktem (1.8L, 4150 won), a reasonably priced milk product, starting from the 20th to meet the increased demand for white milk consumption after COVID-19.

According to CU on the 17th, the year-on-year sales growth rate of white milk over the past three years was only 2.0% in 2019, before COVID-19. However, as people spent more time at home after COVID-19, following trends such as home cafes and home baking, the growth rate significantly increased to 8.6% in 2020 and 11.3% in 2021.

Sales of white milk in the first quarter of this year also rose by 12.2% compared to the same period last year, and even in this month (1st to 15th), white milk recorded a sales growth rate of 21.1%, showing an upward trend.

U-yu Deuktem, planned in response to the increased sales of white milk, is priced at about 230 won per 100ml, which is cheaper than CU’s existing private brand (PB) milk (1L, 240 won per 100ml) and about 20% more price competitive compared to national brand (NB) products of the same volume (about 289 won).

U-yu Deuktem is made from domestically produced raw milk of grade 1A, sterilized at a high temperature of over 130 degrees Celsius for more than 3 seconds. Despite its affordable price, it boasts quality that is not inferior to existing products.

Along with the launch of Deuktem milk, CU will exclusively introduce ‘Milk Secret Milk (1L, 1850 won)’, directly imported from Poland, in response to the rising demand for sterilized milk.

Sterilized milk is increasingly sought after due to its longer shelf life and lower price compared to regular pasteurized milk. According to the Korea Customs Service’s export-import trade statistics, the import volume of sterilized milk in Korea increased about ninefold from 1,214 tons in 2016 to 11,413 tons in 2020 over four years. CU’s sales of sterilized milk in the first quarter of this year also rose by 33.1% compared to the same period last year.

Hwang Cheoljoong, MD of the Beverage Food Team at BGF Retail, said, “With milk, a frequently purchased item, added to the Deuktem series launched as part of the price stabilization project, we expect the burden on customers’ shopping baskets to be further reduced. We will continue to introduce various Deuktem series products for customers shopping at convenience stores, which have established themselves as a representative local shopping platform.”

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