Soaring Bungeoppang and Hotteok Prices Drive Homemade Snack Trend

Gmarket Sees Triple Sales Growth in Hotteok Kits
Bungeoppang Offers a Variety of Fillings
Ready-to-Eat Meal Kits Also "Popular"

Bungeoppang pan sold on Gmarket. (Photo by Gmarket, Simpre Bungeoppang Pan).

[Asia Economy, reporter Lim Chunhan] Homemaker Kang purchased a bungeoppang pan and ingredients from an online mall. This was because she simply could not find any place selling bungeoppang near her home. Kang commented, "These days, people even use the term 'Bungse-gwon' to describe how hard it is to find a bungeoppang shop. So I decided to make it at home as a snack with my child. The batter is convenient since you just add water, and I like that you can put in as much filling as you want."

Recently, bungeoppang and hotteok, which used to be affordable and filling snacks, have become a thing of the past. Due to COVID-19, customer numbers declined, and many street vendors closed down because they could not withstand rising prices. In some parts of Seoul, there are even places selling a single bungeoppang for 1,000 won. As a result, home-use pans, ingredients, and ready-to-eat meal kits for winter snacks have been launched, driving a surge in the homemade snack trend.

According to Gmarket, sales of bungeoppang makers from November 1 to 20 surged by 89% compared to the previous month. Sales of hotteok-making kits and hotteok mix increased by 245% and 23%, respectively. During the same period, at Kurly, sales of hotteok mix rose by 65%, while at Lotte ON, sales of flour and mixes increased by 50%. Bungeoppang-making products are sold with batter mixes as well as a variety of fillings such as red bean, custard cream, and chocolate. Hotteok-making kits come with batter mix, jam mix, and yeast, allowing for home baking without the need for complex ingredient preparation or cooking processes.

At 11st, sales of home baking supplies increased by 25%, and bakery appliances by 14%. By gender, women accounted for 65% of purchases, nearly twice as many as men at 35%. By age group, those in their 40s made up 38%, those in their 30s 28%, those in their 50s 18%, and those in their 20s 8%. This suggests that the demand for home baking among homemakers who want to make snacks like hotteok and bungeoppang for their children at home is on the rise.

Ready-to-eat bungeoppang and hotteok meal kits are also gaining popularity. At Gmarket, sales of bungeoppang jumped by 175%, hotteok by 154%, and gyeranppang (egg bread) by 60%. At Kurly, sales of bungeoppang increased by 90% and hotteok by 161%. At Lotte ON, sales of hotteok, steamed buns, and hoppang rose by 20%. At SSG.com, sales of bungeoppang and hotteok climbed by 55% and 20%, respectively. For bungeoppang, a variety of new flavors designed for air fryers are being released, and frozen hotteok products that are easy to prepare are also receiving positive responses.

An industry insider said, "With high inflation persisting and the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, a culture has formed where people have winter snacks delivered to their homes or make them themselves using ingredients. For ready-to-eat bungeoppang, a variety of flavors such as red bean, custard cream, and chocolate are available, so orders are increasing significantly."

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