Salt Bomb? Healthy Meal at Convenience Stores Too... "Lowering Salt Content and Enhancing Nutrition"

CU, Sodium Content Reduced by 30%
GS25, Low-Sodium Gochujang Seasoning
Targeting Demand for Healthy Food Choices

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Convenience stores are introducing ready-to-eat meals with significantly reduced sodium content compared to traditional triangular kimbap and lunch boxes. This move aims to shed the stigma of being "sodium bombs" and to target the growing demand from consumers seeking healthier products.

According to the convenience store industry on the 22nd, each company is launching sodium-reduced ready meals and collaborating with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to operate "Healthy Food Corners." CU partnered with Pulmuone to introduce the "Right Ready Meal" series, which reduces sodium content by about 30% compared to existing products. They also lowered the salt content and enhanced nutritional value in their Healthy Diet Lunch Boxes and One-Meal Diet Lunch Boxes. Differentiated cooking methods include using sauces and dressings with lower salt levels and substituting white rice with mixed grains such as black rice and brown rice. These products have become very popular, ranking within the top 10 in sales.

CU operates Healthy Food Corners in 51 stores. In locations frequently visited by children, such as near schools, they separate and display foods with low sodium content or no added sugars for sale. The corner offers 33 products, including Rich Tuna Mayo Triangular Kimbap, Egg Potato Sandwich, and Jumbo 4-Layer Ham Tuna Sandwich. As a result, from the 7th to the 20th of this month, these stores recorded higher sales compared to regular stores: lunch boxes increased by 14.6%, triangular kimbap by 26.4%, and sandwiches by 30.1%.

Convenience store CU is introducing the 올바른 간편식 series, a line of ready-to-eat meals with more than 30% less sodium content compared to existing products.

GS25 reduced sodium content by more than 30% by changing the gochujang seasoning in their Jeongseong Gadeuk Lunch Box to a low-sodium version. This product ranks 5th in overall lunch box sales and is number one in lunch box pre-orders via the "My Refrigerator" application. Starting early next month, they plan to sequentially introduce sodium-reduced triangular kimbap and other products. The Healthy Food Corner operates in 45 stores, selling 88 items including fresh food, refrigerated products, dairy, beverages, and nuts. These products rank highly within their categories and have received positive responses. Notably, Pul Tuna Mayo Triangular Kimbap and Idol Sandwich rank first, Big So Bulgogi Burger ranks second, New Tuna Ham Salad Kimbap ranks fourth, and Banban Han Meat Table ranks fifth.

Seven Eleven launched two sodium-down triangular kimbap products with sodium content reduced by more than 30% compared to their similar triangular kimbap. They plan to introduce various additional triangular kimbap products and sodium-down series items in kimbap and lunch boxes in the future. Seven Eleven operates Healthy Food Corners in five stores, selling 54 products. Emart24 handles 30 products across three stores.

A convenience store industry official said, "With a commitment to leading the nation’s health management, we are releasing ready meals that maintain taste as much as possible while reducing sodium to provide a healthy flavor without being salty. As sales of sodium-reduced products continue to rise, we plan to actively develop this category."

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