HMR Purchase Share Soars Among 50s and 60s... Top Popular Item Is Instant Soup and Stew

Lotte Members Publishes Report on Ready-to-Eat Meal Consumption Trends

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Lotte Members announced on the 6th that it has published a 'Home Meal Replacement (HMR) Consumption Trend Report' for its partners through data analysis exchanges with Shinhan Card.

According to the analysis of transaction data for mart and supermarket products by Lotte Members, the proportion of HMR purchases by consumers in their 50s (26.3%) and those aged 60 and above (14.3%) at marts and supermarkets in the first half of this year increased by 5% and 4.3%, respectively, compared to the first half of 2019. Although the purchase proportions of consumers in their 40s (35.5%) and 30s (18.4%) remained high, the increase in middle-aged and older consumers' purchase proportions caused a slight decrease compared to the first half of 2019. The purchase proportions of consumers in their 20s (5.4%) and under 10 (0.1%) were still low. By gender, the purchase proportion of women (70.4%) was higher than that of men (29.6%), but the proportion of male buyers has steadily increased every year since 2019.

The most popular HMR item was instant soup and stew. This was followed by frozen dumplings, frozen fried foods, instant curry and jajang (black bean sauce), refrigerated noodles, instant rice, instant porridge, refrigerated meal kits, refrigerated simple tteokbokki, and other frozen convenience foods in order of purchase volume. Except for the top two items, instant soup and stew and frozen dumplings, which held their positions firmly, other items saw significant ranking changes in the first half of this year compared to the first half of 2019. During this period, refrigerated meal kits saw a 161.1% increase in purchase volume, rising to 8th place among popular items. Refrigerated noodles surpassed instant rice and instant porridge to rank 5th, indicating a change in preference for carbohydrate products consumed as staple foods.

Several items outside the top 10 popular items also showed a sharp increase in purchase volume. In the first half of this year, simple grilled fish (300.6%) sold more than three times compared to the first half of 2019. Korean side dishes (193.9%), Western side dishes (104.5%), instant soups (74.7%), refrigerated chicken jokbal (60.8%), salads (59.9%), frozen desserts (35.7%), frozen fish cakes (34.1%), and frozen soups and stews (28.1%) also saw noticeable increases in purchase volume.

According to the analysis of transaction data from unmanned HMR stores, unlike marts and supermarkets, the purchase proportion of men (50.1%) was slightly higher than that of women (49.9%). Monthly purchase amounts increased more than eightfold for both men (947%) and women (818%) from January last year to June this year. By age group, consumers in their 40s (37.7%) had the highest purchase proportion, followed by those in their 30s (24.7%) and 50s (20.9%). The purchase amount increased the most among consumers in their 30s (1068%), with significant growth also seen in those in their 20s (910%), 40s (901%), 50s (749%), and 60 and above (685%).

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