Jelly's 'Chewy Texture' Completely Relieves Stress

Various Colors, Shapes, and Textures Spotlighted as YouTube ASMR Content
Market Growing to 300 Billion KRW Scale

Orion 'My Gummy' Series

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] "The unique ‘chop-chop’ chewing sound when eating jelly is surprisingly healing." A man in his 30s, Mr. A, often watches jelly ‘mukbang’ videos on YouTube ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) channels after work. He said, "Listening to the repetitive sound of chewing jelly gives me a strange sense of comfort," adding, "Sometimes my mouth waters so much that I rush to a convenience store while watching the videos."

Jelly is emerging as a representative snack, gaining attention as YouTube content material with its various colors, shapes, and textures.

According to the industry on the 31st, Orion’s jelly sales from January to April this year amounted to 12.7 billion KRW, showing a 21.0% growth compared to the same period last year (10.5 billion KRW). In particular, Orion’s flagship jelly brand ‘My Gummy’ saw an 80% increase in sales last month compared to the same period last year, boosted by new products such as ‘Plum Pieces.’

Hy also saw a significant increase in jelly sales through direct sales channels. During the same period, hy’s direct sales channel jellies, including ‘Super Back Gummy Jelly,’ sold 691,191 units, a 222.2% increase compared to 214,474 units in the same period last year. The ‘Yours Grand Jelly,’ shaped like Yakult and sold at convenience store GS25, also sold 350,509 units, up 11.2% from 315,150 units a year earlier.

hy 'Yours Grand Jelly'

The industry believes that consumers are interested in the various shapes, colors, and textures of jelly. The unique texture is used as ASMR content on platforms like YouTube, providing not only the fun of eating but also the enjoyment of watching and listening, which is further boosting jelly’s popularity.

An industry insider explained the popularity factor, saying, "Compared to other snacks, jelly can implement relatively diverse shapes and flavor designs, offering many detailed aspects that consumers find enjoyable." In response to this demand, the industry continues to release jellies with various concepts such as samgyeopsal (pork belly) jelly, tuna sashimi jelly, and Earth jelly. Thanks to this popularity, the domestic jelly market has grown from about 68 billion KRW in 2014 to 300 billion KRW last year.

On the other hand, the gum market is continuously shrinking. As chewing foods diversify, gum’s position is narrowing, and recently, the reduction in face-to-face activities due to COVID-19 has decreased demand for gum consumed for etiquette purposes such as bad breath removal, which has also affected market contraction. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the domestic gum market, which was 321 billion KRW in 2015, shrank to about 254 billion KRW in 2020. It is expected to decrease further to 250 billion KRW by 2025.

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