"The Return of Strawberry Season"... Convenience Store Strawberry Dessert War

Strawberry Sandwich Sold Out March
Popular Among MZ Generation Every Year
Various Dessert Products Also Released

A model is introducing a strawberry sandwich at the convenience store GS25. (Photo by GS Retail)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As strawberries have established themselves as a representative winter fruit, a "Strawberry War" is unfolding at convenience stores. Each convenience store is prominently featuring strawberry sandwiches and introducing various desserts to attract consumers.

According to CU on the 22nd, the strawberry sandwiches introduced through the membership application (app) Pocket CU's reservation purchase since the 1st of this month have been selling out continuously. By age group, 47% are in their 20s and 42% in their 30s, with the majority being the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). By gender, the purchase ratio of men to women is 8 to 2 respectively. Strawberry sandwiches have gained explosive popularity every year upon release. Over the past three years, the year-on-year sales growth rates for strawberry sandwiches were 109.8% in 2019, 27.4% in 2020, and 133.6% in 2021.

The fresh strawberry pastry sandwich introduced by CU this year features domestically grown Seolhyang strawberries with a sugar content of over 12 Brix and milk cream topping, characterized by a sweet yet soft taste. The amount of cream was increased by about 20% compared to last year, and instead of regular bread, pastry was used to add a soft texture and richer flavor. Offline sales will begin at stores located in the metropolitan area from the end of this month, with plans to expand sales nationwide starting next month.

GS25 started selling strawberry sandwiches through its app, Our Neighborhood GS, and the daily prepared quantity of 400 units has been sold out every day. The newly released products include two types: strawberry sandwich and Cream Rabbit Strawberry Tongtong Sandwich. In particular, the Cream Rabbit Strawberry Tongtong Sandwich is generously filled with fresh cream and strawberries in each piece. GS25 will first release the Cream Rabbit Strawberry Tongtong Sandwich at metropolitan area stores starting today and plans to officially sell the strawberry sandwich early next month. Seven Eleven and Emart24 are also scheduled to release strawberry sandwiches next month.

Various strawberry dessert products are also popular. GS25 increased its strawberry dessert lineup from 9 types last year to 15 types this year. Seven Eleven offers 6 types including slice cakes, strawberry choux, and sticky rice cake strawberry, while Emart24 sells 9 types including strawberry cakes, strawberry milk choux, and strawberry cream bread.

A convenience store industry official said, "As the popularity of strawberry products continues to rise day by day, new products with upgraded taste and quality are being introduced every year," adding, "We plan to continuously launch seasonal desserts so that consumers can enjoy seasonal fruits at reasonable prices in the future."

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