Like Convenience Stores... Large Supermarkets Also Sell Agricultural Products Individually

Large Retailers Expand Single-Item Sales of Agricultural Products Nationwide
Reflecting Increase in Single-Person Households and High Inflation... Also Reducing Packaging Waste

Small-packaged products are displayed at Homeplus Gangseo branch in Deungchon-dong, Seoul.

Minsu Kim (37, pseudonym), a dual-income newlywed living in Mapo-gu, Seoul, shops at a large supermarket once a week. While they mostly eat out during the week, they prefer to cook simple home meals like doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) or stir-fried vegetables on weekends. At the supermarket’s produce section, Kim picks up only as many potatoes and onions as needed, usually one or two each. Kim said, "With rising prices, the cost of grocery shopping is a big burden, and when I buy onions sold in 1-bag units during summer, half of them usually go bad. I hope more items can be sold in quantities just enough for one meal."

Going forward, it will become more convenient for single- and two-person households like Kim’s to shop at large supermarkets. This is because major agricultural products will be increasingly sold individually at large supermarkets.

According to the distribution industry on the 20th, starting today, five major supermarkets?Emart, Lotte Mart, Homeplus, Nonghyup Hanaro Distribution, and GS The Fresh?will expand nationwide the ‘unpackaged and individual sales of agricultural products,’ making it easier to buy items like onions, potatoes, and carrots individually. This initiative is a collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and these supermarkets to allow consumers to purchase only the amount they need and to address the issue of packaging waste generated during the distribution and sales process of agricultural products.

Accordingly, supermarkets will increase the number of items displayed in bulk so that consumers can pick as much as they want, and they will also expand the stores adopting this method. A representative from a major supermarket said, "In consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, we will work to enhance consumer convenience and minimize the burden of rising prices by expanding individually sold products and applying discount items under the agricultural discount coupon project ‘Let’s Do Korea Farm Discount.’"

According to the 2020 Population and Housing Census released by Statistics Korea in July last year, the proportion of single- and two-person households reached an all-time high of 59.8% of all households. Consequently, the demand for individually packaged and small-portion products has increased not only at convenience stores near homes but also at large supermarkets. From June 1 to 19 this month, Emart’s sales of small-packaged products increased overall compared to the same period last year, with sliced fruits up 30.3% and ready-to-eat vegetables up 7.7%. Homeplus reported that from June 1 to 15, the sales share of small-packaged seafood products increased 20 times compared to January. The shares of meat and vegetable products also grew by 320% and 120%, respectively.

Earlier, in February, the government conducted a ‘pilot event for individual onion sales’ at 96 stores of five major supermarkets across 17 cities and provinces nationwide for one week to gauge on-site reactions. The results showed that consumers preferred buying onions individually because it allowed small-quantity purchases suited to household circumstances and reduced waste, and they expressed willingness to expand individual purchases in the future.

Large supermarkets plan to continuously discover and expand agricultural products that can be sold unpackaged and individually. A supermarket official said, "Although operations are autonomously managed by each branch, the recent rise in prices has increased the number of consumers who want only as much as they need, and reducing packaging aligns with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management policies, so individually sold products will be expanded in the future."

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