[Interview] Sweet Letter from the Youngest MZ Employee at Hollis

Interview with Yoon Ji-won, Brand Marketing Team Associate

These days, the target that brands most carefully consider when planning and marketing products is undoubtedly the MZ generation. The reason why more and more unique, innovative, and fun products are being launched might be to appeal to the MZ generation. Efforts to understand their distinctive sensibilities, speech patterns, and expressions are frequently ongoing among other generations. Perhaps because of this trend, the industry is emphasizing the voices of the younger generation in differentiated and novel directions. Hollys is no exception. Last year, Hollys collaborated with an illustrator to create the tiger character 'Heuko,' adding a cute and charming impression to the Hollys image, and planned various toppings such as fruit ice cream and cookies according to the menu to emphasize product visuals. The protagonist here is Manager Yoon Ji-won. Born in 1995, she might be seen as a young newcomer to society, but listening to her story reveals much to learn. Besides the achievements mentioned earlier, she planned menu naming for items like Shine Muscat Bongbong Smoothie (Bongbong Smoothie), Shine Muscat Coco Sparkling (Coco Sparkling), and Sweet Watermelon Smoothie (Sweet Smoothie), and as a holder of the ‘Halmae taste,’ she planned last fall’s seasonal menu. The colorful and abundant vibe that has subtly enriched the existing image of the Hollys caf? has been centered around Manager Yoon. This interview with Manager Yoon, a representative of the MZ generation, makes us reconsider that it is time for the older generation, who dismiss the words of juniors with condescending remarks like “you’re young, you don’t know this field yet” and exploit the hard work of juniors, to awaken. It also made us look forward to Hollys’ drinks again in the upcoming hot summer.

“I am Manager Yoon Ji-won, in my 4th year at the Hollys Brand Marketing Team, planning new menus and promotional materials every season. I love coffee and desserts so much that on my days off, I enjoy caf? tours visiting 3 to 4 caf?s. When I first took charge of menu planning, I was told to ‘do everything you want and realize yourself,’ so I am earnestly working to bring to life the menus I truly want to eat and create.”

Q. Among many caf?s, I’m curious why you applied to Hollys. What aspects of Hollys led you to join?

Since I was a university student, I loved going to caf?s, and Hollys was a very familiar brand because there was a store near my school, so I visited it whenever I had long breaks between classes. I have many memories of spending time enjoying my favorite drinks back then, like cream latte and baguette balls. While preparing for employment, I learned that Hollys Brand Marketing Team was hiring interns, and I applied with a strong sense of internal familiarity. After going through my rookie intern days, I am now officially part of the team.

Q. You are introducing various fruit drinks for the spring and summer seasons. What do you consider important when planning fruit drinks?

Fruit drinks introduced every season at Hollys are very popular, and expectations are high. So, we prepare the seasons with much thought. First, selecting the main fruit for the menu is important. We need to find fruits that express the seasonality while also reflecting trends well. The ‘Shine Muscat Bongbong Smoothie’ was first introduced in the spring season of 2022. We planned it as a new smoothie menu by recognizing the trend of the premium fruit Shine Muscat becoming popularized. It recorded the highest smoothie sales last year and was re-released this year to great acclaim.

Communicating with consumers through the menu is also important. So, we pay attention to visuals and naming. Recently, Hollys’ summer season menu was launched, themed around the intense romance of summer with a tropical mood. We selected watermelon and tropical fruit pineapple, fruits that are essential for summer, as the main fruits to capture the summer color palette, and topped the drinks with watermelon-shaped ice cream and pineapple pieces for a point of interest. The names were also planned to convey the romance of summer, such as ‘Watermelon Cooler Smoothie,’ which feels refreshing from the name, ‘Goldpine Tropical Smoothie,’ which creates a tropical mood with red raspberries and bright yellow gold pineapple, and ‘Pine Sunset Chamomile Tea,’ which resembles the colors of a summer sunset.

Q. How do you usually proceed with new menu planning?

New menu planning usually takes at least six months to a year. Experiencing two different seasons constantly sometimes makes me forget today’s weather, and thinking about a distant season often makes me feel like I’m living in the future ahead of others. I usually start by searching for season-related keywords and recalling experiences from caf?s, bakeries, and travel destinations I’ve visited to generate ideas. At this time, I get many ideas through team members’ opinions. Our team is very diverse, including people who visit trendy pop-up stores every weekend, character enthusiasts who love characters, and early adopters who buy trendy items faster than anyone else. These varied experiences greatly help expand ideas. We often have tea time together in the afternoon, and there is always some new and delicious dessert or interesting new item someone brought on the table. Conversations during these times sometimes give hints for new menu planning. Once ideas are somewhat decided, we start more concrete planning by analyzing sales data and researching competitors for objective data.

Q. Which menu do you personally feel most attached to?

Among the released menus, the ones I feel most attached to are last fall’s seasonal menu ‘Black Sesame Cream Latte’ and last winter’s seasonal menu ‘Winter Tiramisu Latte.’ These are the menus that realized my self-expression. Long before the term ‘yak-getting’ became popular, I searched for famous yakgwa and hangwa (traditional Korean sweets) shops, and I am someone born with a ‘Halmae’ (grandmother) taste, always ordering mugwort latte and signature grain drinks when I go to caf?s. I also enjoy the rustic vacation experience that is trending among the MZ generation, and I live a daily life admiring ‘Little Forest’ while enjoying the retro sensibility of film cameras. Reflecting my daily life, I launched the ‘Black Sesame Cream Latte’ menu themed on ‘Little Forest’ last fall, and it recorded twice the expected sales before release, which gave me great satisfaction as a product planner. The ‘Winter Tiramisu Latte’ released last winter is also a menu that realized my imagination, so I feel attached to it. We topped the drink with a chocolate snowman so that when you order a warm drink, it looks like the snowman is melting. I was delighted to see reviews saying, “The snowman melted~ It’s a real winter drink,” feeling that the planning intention was well conveyed. I am enthusiastically preparing the fall and winter seasonal menus this year as well, so please look forward to them!

Q. Since the public’s response was good, it must have felt special.

Before release, the thing I fear most is the public’s reaction, but the responses are always better than expected, which becomes the driving force to prepare for the next season. I look through SNS reviews alone and collect interesting feedback separately. The most memorable one is the reaction, “Hollys staff, a true concept enthusiast.”

Q. If you have any favorite drinks or snacks you enjoy at Hollys (besides work), please recommend them~

Our team leader tells us to avoid going to Hollys during breaks and to go experience and enjoy other places. Actually, since we have to do various tests every time a new menu is launched, I eat Hollys’ menu very often and a lot during weekdays. Being a well-behaved team member (laughs), I usually search diligently for newly opened or popular caf?s. Of course, I have a personal recommendation for Hollys’ menu. The season I look forward to most during the year is the bingsu (shaved ice) season! Since I have a ‘Halmaenial’ taste, I really love Hollys’ Snowflake Red Bean Bingsu. After joining Hollys, ordering delivery with my family when the bingsu season starts has become an annual event at my home. The Snowflake Red Bean Bingsu’s granola topping is very savory, and it is full of my favorite milk ice, so I enjoy one bingsu per week until the season ends every year.

Q. What direction do you want to plan in the future, and what are your aspirations?

I want to communicate and empathize with consumers through menus. So, I try to include stories every time I plan a seasonal menu. This summer’s seasonal menu was planned with the hope that customers enjoy drinks at Hollys while feeling the intense sunlight, summer evening sunsets, and the passion and romance that can be savored in summer. Also, I want to plan special menus that are loved by consumers for a long time and have longevity, like Hollys’ signature menus ‘Vanilla Delight’ and ‘Strawberry Cheesecake Hallichino.’

Q. Lastly, please say a word to the public on behalf of Hollys.

Hollys strives to deliver various joys to you every season. I will continue to add my ‘MZ power’ and passion to create lots of fun, delicious, and enjoyable menus, so please keep showing your interest and love!

Photo = Hollys

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