Lotte Mart and Supermarkets "Freshly Picked Strawberries at Dawn, Sold the Same Afternoon"

Demand for Ultra-Fresh Strawberries Surges
‘Dawn Strawberry’ Sales Begin

Lotte Mart and Lotte Super will start selling ‘Saebyeok Strawberry’ harvested early in the morning from the 22nd.

Saebyeok Strawberry is an ultra-fresh product harvested from major production areas such as Nonsan, Samnye, and Damyang starting around 3 a.m., with sorting and packaging completed in the morning and sold in stores after 2 p.m. on the same day. Compared to regular strawberries harvested in the morning and sold in stores the next day, the distribution time is reduced by half a day, enhancing freshness.

Lotte Mart prepared Saebyeok Strawberry to provide customers with fresh strawberries even in the warm spring season. Strawberries are extremely freshness-sensitive products directly linked to purchase, but they are very sensitive to temperature, making quality control difficult as temperatures rise. From late February, as temperatures rise significantly, the strawberry flesh weakens, causing bruising or damage frequently during harvesting and sorting processes.

Saebyeok Strawberry, which improves the drawbacks of spring strawberries, has received positive responses from customers. Over the past five years, Lotte Mart’s annual sales of Saebyeok Strawberry have shown double-digit growth each year, and last year’s annual sales increased by about 10% compared to 2022.

To provide customers with more options, the number of items operated as Saebyeok Strawberry has also been expanded. Last year, three items?‘Seolhyang’, ‘Vitaberry’, and ‘Geumsil’?were offered as Saebyeok Strawberry, but this year, ‘Seolhyang Tyvek Strawberry’ will be newly introduced.

The number of Lotte Super stores handling Saebyeok Strawberry has also increased. Lotte Super stores offering Saebyeok Strawberry include five stores in the Seoul metropolitan area such as Jamwon Branch, twelve stores in the Yeongnam region such as Suseong Branch, and five stores in the Chungcheong and Honam regions such as Pungam Branch. Lotte Mart sells Saebyeok Strawberry at all its stores.

Shin Hansol, MD of the Fruit Team at Lotte Mart and Super, said, "We will continuously develop new production areas, expand the range of ultra-fresh food items and operating stores, and build differentiated grocery competitiveness for Lotte Mart and Super."

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