Convenience Stores Expanding Overseas with K-Food and Private Brand Products Leading the Way

CU Surpasses 200 Stores in Mongolia
GS25 Becomes Popular for Ready-to-Eat Chicken
Emart24 Accounts for 50% of Total K-Food Sales

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As the domestic convenience store market reaches saturation, the convenience store industry is accelerating its overseas expansion. Centered on Mongolia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, each company is prominently featuring K-food and private brand (PB) products, receiving positive responses from locals.

◆ K-Convenience Stores Compete to Expand Overseas Store Numbers = According to the convenience store industry on the 9th, CU surpassed 200 stores in Mongolia last month. This is about four years since entering Mongolia in 2018 through a master franchise (MP) model in partnership with the local company Central Express. Central Express aims to open 300 stores by the first half of 2023. In Malaysia, CU has been operating 90 stores since opening its first store in April last year. It plans to gradually convert the convenience store brand MyNews.com, operated by local partner MyNews Holdings, into CU stores.

GS25 entered Mongolia last year in partnership with the local Sean Collie Group. It currently operates 59 stores and aims to open 150 stores by the end of this year. The number of stores in Vietnam is 159, and in December last year, it opened its first franchise store for the general public locally. GS25 Vietnam plans to increase the number of stores to 260 this year.

Emart24 opened its first store in Malaysia in June last year in partnership with the local company United Frontiers Holdings and currently operates 17 stores. It plans to expand to 30 stores by the end of this year and up to 300 stores within the next five years. Convenience stores are entering overseas markets in the form of MP rather than direct investment. They entrust operations to overseas partners and supply only the brand, business know-how, and products, receiving royalties in return.

Tteokbokki is being sold at CU Awanas Skyway branch in Kenting, Malaysia.

◆ K-Food and PB Products Captivate Locals = K-food and PB products have become the main items in overseas convenience stores. CU sells Korean-style ready-to-eat foods such as gimbap, toast, and hot dogs in Mongolia, and has developed local foods like Mongolian steamed buns called boz and traditional fried dumplings called khushuur as convenience store products. CU’s freshly brewed coffee sells about 200 cups per store per day, gaining great popularity. In Malaysia, ready-to-eat and convenience foods like tteokbokki and gimbap, along with PB products, account for more than 70% of store sales.

At GS25 Mongolia, ready-to-eat chicken has become a popular product among locals who prefer meat, and the fresh milk latte combining fresh milk favored by nomads with GS25’s Cafe25 coffee has also received a good response. In fact, chicken25, Cafe25, and convenience foods account for more than 50% of total sales in Mongolia. In Vietnam, ready-to-eat tteokbokki, steamed buns, and rabokki consistently rank within the top five in sales.

At Emart24 Malaysia, K-food such as cup rice, tteokbokki, and fried chicken accounts for 50% of total sales. Considering that the sales proportion of ready-to-eat food products in Korea is 10-20%, this is a very high figure. An Emart24 official said, "We are considering expanding into various countries starting with Malaysia," adding, "Our goal is to become a global convenience store brand."

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