Convenience Store Chicken Sells Like Hotcakes as Price Hits 30,000 Won

Convenience Store Sales Rise Across the Board in First Half
Convenience Store Chicken Competition Expected to Intensify

This year, the sales volume of ready-to-eat chicken at major convenience stores has significantly increased. As major chicken brands raised their product prices, convenience store chicken, which offers similar quantities at reasonable prices, has emerged as an alternative.

According to the industry on the 22nd, CU's total sales of ready-to-eat chicken in the first quarter of this year rose by 62.2% compared to the previous year. In particular, the combined sales of 'Giant Sunsal Chicken' and 'Fried Chicken,' which contain the quantity of one whole chicken, increased by 84.7% year-on-year, showing a large growth rate. During the same period, Seven Eleven's 'Mankuman-gu Chicken' sales also rose by 150% compared to the previous year. Mankuman-gu Chicken is a popular product that Seven Eleven launched last year, offering a whole fried chicken at half the price. GS25's 'Chicken25' also continued its upward trend with first-quarter sales increasing by 36.9% year-on-year.

GS25 collaborated with Son Heung-min's team Tottenham last year to launch 'Tottenham Shoe Fries'
[Photo by GS25]

The background for the increased demand for convenience store chicken is attributed to the recent price hikes by specialized chicken restaurants. As the prices of specialty chicken rose sharply, more customers are turning to convenience store chicken to enjoy similar quantities at reasonable prices.

From this month, Kyochon Chicken raised prices of major menu items by about 500 to 3,000 won. Accordingly, 'Kyochon Original' jumped from 16,000 won to 19,000 won, 'Honey Combo' from 20,000 won to 23,000 won, and 'Red Original' from 17,000 won to 20,000 won. For the representative menu, Kyochon Original, when including delivery fees of 3,000 to 5,000 won, the price consumers bear approaches around 25,000 won. Some combo menus currently sold at Kyochon Chicken for around 23,000 won reach close to 30,000 won when delivery fees are added. The era of 30,000 won chicken has thus begun.

As the popularity of convenience store chicken continues, Emart24 has recently joined the competition in earnest. Unlike other convenience stores, Emart24 had only sold chicken in about 300 of its 6,000 nationwide stores on a test basis, but recently filed a trademark for its own brand called 'OneulE Chicken' and expressed intentions to expand sales.

An industry insider said, "In the past, there were many opinions that convenience store chicken was dry and had poor texture, but recently these issues have improved, and even those who hesitate to order from specialized franchise chicken are turning to convenience store chicken," adding, "As major domestic franchise stores recently raised prices, competitors are likely to follow suit with price increases. We expect convenience store chicken sales to continue rising in the future."

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