[Distribution Hot People] Lee Young-joo, Lotte Mart MD, "I Cooked Seaweed Soup Ramen with a Single Student's Heart"

Lotte Mart Develops 'Paldo Sagol Perilla Seaweed Soup Ramen'
Born in 1993, MZ Generation... Considering Healthy Pleasure and Single-Person Household Characteristics
10,000 Units Sold in 5 Days... Total Sales Reach 30,000 Units

Lee Young-joo, MD of the Seasoning and Substitute Food Team at Lotte Mart, is posing while holding the ramen she developed. (Photo by Lotte Mart)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] "It’s hard for people living alone to have seaweed soup on their birthday. I thought about how single-person households could enjoy a hearty and convenient bowl of seaweed soup."

Lee Youngju, MD of the Seasoned Food Team at Lotte Mart, is the mastermind behind the launch of ‘Paldo Beef Bone Perilla Seaweed Soup Ramen.’ Released on the 10th of last month, this ramen sold 10,000 units within five days at Lotte Mart, and the cumulative sales have now exceeded 30,000 units.

In a market dominated by ‘red broth ramen,’ Lee targeted a niche market with beef bone perilla seaweed soup. Lee recalled, "If I had launched a red broth ramen, basic sales would have been guaranteed, but there were people around me questioning why I chose a difficult path." However, since beef bone soup and seaweed soup were competing for the top spots in the convenience food category, there was ample reason to combine them.

Born in 1993 and representing the lively MZ generation (Millennials + Gen Z), Lee began to overcome surrounding concerns. To create delicious seaweed soup for ramen, Lee started with YouTube and studied most of the seaweed soup recipes available on the market. To capture the ‘Halmaennial’ taste popular among the MZ generation, Lee chose perilla seaweed soup, comparing versions with perilla seeds with shells and those with soft perilla seeds to perfect the flavor. Additionally, to make a single bowl satisfying for single-person households, potato starch was added to the noodles to give a heavy and chewy texture.

From the MZ generation’s perspective, ‘healthy pleasure’ was also considered. Lee said, "There are too many spicy ramens on the market. Don’t you feel guilty eating red broth ramen after working out? I wanted to make a mild ramen." In fact, the sodium content of the beef bone perilla seaweed soup ramen is about 1500mg, which is lower compared to the 1700mg range of typical ramens.

Setting a record by selling out 10,000 units within five days, the product attracted significant internal attention. Kim Sanghyun, Vice Chairman of Lotte Shopping, even sent Lee an encouraging email saying, "I tried it, and the ramen was tasty without being too spicy."

Lee, who now enjoys checking real-time sales performance before going to bed, said, "I believe ramen that sells well wins everyone’s hearts. I had faith that if it resonated with the MZ generation, it would appeal to all generations."

Lee concluded the interview by saying, "I want to continue creating products that are uniquely Lee Youngju’s and fun like me. It would make me even happier if customers come to Lotte Mart just to buy the products I made."

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