"Let's Battle Fast Food Chains"... CU Expands Premium Hamburger Lineup

Hamburger Sales Increased by 20.2% from January to August

Real Beef Cheeseburger and Real Double Shrimp Burger sold at CU.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] CU announced on the 20th that it will launch two premium burgers: the Real Beef Cheeseburger and the Real Double Shrimp Burger.

These products also focus on enhancing the overall product quality, including toppings, with a high-quality, premium concept to deliver a taste comparable to fast-food specialty stores, improving all components compared to existing convenience store hamburgers.

The Real Beef Cheeseburger uses a 100% Australian pure beef patty. Generally, convenience store hamburger patties are made mainly from mixed beef and pork to meet a price range of 2,000 to 3,000 KRW, but this is the first time a 100% pure beef patty has been applied. The Real Double Shrimp Burger differentiates itself in taste and quality from existing shrimp burgers by including whole shrimp patties along with real shrimp roe in their original form.

CU’s premium hamburgers offer higher product quality while being about 30-40% cheaper than similar products at fast-food restaurants through cost-saving efforts. Starting with hamburger upgrades this year, CU plans to expand the range to the sandwich category next year, introducing premium products with innovative menus and raw materials.

Looking at the sales proportion changes by CU’s convenience food categories, hamburgers and sandwiches have steadily increased from 27.3% in 2019, 27.5% in 2020, to 30.3% in 2021. The sales growth rates for hamburgers and sandwiches from January to August this year compared to the previous year were 20.2% and 16.3%, respectively.

A BGF Retail official said, “CU aimed to elevate the quality of convenience store ready-to-eat foods one step further through a premium strategy that meets the expectations and standards of customers seeking new meal options,” adding, “We plan to expand quality upgrades focused on raw ingredients to all products in the hamburger and sandwich categories going forward.”

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