"Here, one bottle for Park Jaebeom~" Active 'Star Marketing' in the Alcohol Industry... Who Will Benefit?

'Park Jaebum Soju' Sells Out 200,000 Bottles in One Week
Experts: "Success Requires a Story That Attracts the Public"

In February, singer Jay Park introduced 'Wonsoju' at the Wonsoju pop-up store on the B1 floor of The Hyundai Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyundai Department Store

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Wooseok] Recently, singer Park Jaebeom's directly launched 'Park Jaebeom Soju' has garnered significant attention, prompting the alcoholic beverage industry to follow suit with 'star marketing.' Experts suggest that rather than simple advertisements using celebrities, products need to incorporate a kind of story to capture consumers' interest.

According to GS Retail on the 22nd, the convenience store GS25's 'Wonsoju Spirit,' also known as Park Jaebeom Soju, which went on sale from the 12th, reportedly sold out by the 18th.

Wonsoju Spirit, exclusively sold by GS25 and GS The Fresh, sold all 200,000 initial bottles within a week of its release. During this period, Wonsoju Spirit also ranked first in total alcoholic beverage sales at GS25.

This achievement surpassed the long-standing sales leaders Cass and Chamisul Fresh, marking the first time Wonsoju Spirit overtook these top-selling alcoholic beverages.

Wonsoju Spirit is a distilled soju product launched by singer Park Jaebeom, who established the specialized liquor manufacturing company Wons Spirits. It is the second product following the first, 'Wonsoju.' Although priced higher (12,900 KRW) than regular soju, it has gained popularity mainly among the MZ generation (born between 1980 and 2000), continuing its sell-out streak.

In February, Wons Spirits held a 'Wonsoju' pop-up store at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, selling out an initial batch of 20,000 bottles. At that time, more than 1,000 people lined up before the store opened, creating an 'open run' phenomenon.

Following the popularity of 'Park Jaebeom Soju,' related industries have quickly embarked on 'star marketing.' CU announced that from the 6th, it would be the first to sell 'Baekgeolli,' developed by culinary researcher Baek Jongwon. Seven Eleven exclusively launched 'Lim Changjung Misutgaru Honey Makgeolli,' a product whose recipe was personally developed by singer Lim Changjung, in May.

BeerK, the importer and distributor of Tsingtao, announced that Shin Dong-yup has been selected as the advertising model for 2022 and plans to carry out enjoyable marketing activities throughout the year. Photo by BeerK

Craft beer brand Squeeze Brewer announced on the 13th that it would collaborate with singer Lee Sunhee to release two types of 'Beer for J,' and OB Beer’s Budweiser launched a limited edition 500ml can package on the 12th featuring singer BoA as the model. This product incorporates lyrics from BoA’s song 'No Limit' and illustrations of BoA.

Beer K’s Tsingtao also released a limited edition 'Tsingtao Lager Shin Dongyeop Can' 500ml in three varieties, featuring comedian Shin Dongyeop’s face on the beer label.

Consumers say that there needs to be differentiation in the ongoing 'star marketing.' Shin (27), an office worker, said, "The popularity of Park Jaebeom Soju (Wonsoju and Wonsoju Spirit) is due to its unique characteristics, such as being a distilled soju different from regular soju and being one of the first alcoholic beverages directly created by a famous celebrity. Given that Park Jaebeom Soju has already been a huge hit, star marketing without differentiation doesn’t attract much interest."

Experts also say that simple star marketing is unlikely to be effective and that there must be a story compelling enough to attract the public. Professor Lee Eunhee of Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies analyzed, "In the case of Park Jaebeom Soju, there is storytelling that Park Jaebeom himself wanted to promote Korean soju globally and put a lot of thought and research into launching it. Young people respond to this."

Professor Lee added, "Star marketing does not automatically succeed; it is important to build a context that appeals to the public. There must be strategies such as the star having authenticity regarding the product."

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