Lotte Home Shopping Sells Over 350 Tons of Misshapen Apples, Achieving Success Through Collaboration With Local Farms

Branded as 'Areumari' from Geochang Farms in Gyeongnam
Only high-sugar apples carefully selected despite blemishes
Up to 6 tons ordered per minute
Support for channel entry, branding, and content production

On June 25, Lotte Home Shopping announced that 'Areumari', a branded line of misshapen apples with lower commercial value due to their appearance, surpassed cumulative sales of 350 tons in the first half of this year, contributing to mutual growth with local farms.

Lotte Home Shopping, broadcast screen selling misshapen apples 'Areumari'. Provided by Lotte Home Shopping

Lotte Home Shopping developed this product in response to the difficulties faced by apple growers after domestic apple production hit its lowest level since 2011 due to heat waves and typhoons in 2023. The company collaborated with 'Yelmaenamu', an agricultural corporation based at the Agricultural Produce Distribution Center (APC) in Geochang-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, to rebrand misshapen apples?which account for about 30% of total apple production?under the concept "ugly but just as sweet." Only apples with a sugar content of at least 12 Brix were carefully selected to maintain quality, despite their external blemishes. In addition, Lotte Home Shopping designed a structure that goes beyond one-off sales to include ongoing transactions with local farms, stable income generation, and content production. The company guaranteed regular monthly programming, supported stable income by making large-scale direct purchases during the shipping season, and promoted the apples through content such as ASMR videos featuring show hosts.

During the 2024 launch broadcast, the product received enthusiastic responses from viewers with comments like "It's fine as long as it tastes good, even if it's ugly" and "I'll support you by eating." As a result, 3,500 sets were sold in just 40 minutes. During the autumn harvest season, large-scale direct purchases enabled a 20% discount, resulting in sales of up to 6 tons per minute and more than 10,000 sets sold in just 20 minutes. This product ranked first in order volume among all fruit items on Lotte Home Shopping in the first half of this year. On June 20, the company also launched washed apples from Punggi Nonghyup, selling out the prepared stock in just 50 minutes, and is actively expanding collaborations with local cooperatives. Going forward, Lotte Home Shopping plans to strengthen its distribution model that promotes mutual growth with local farms by discovering regional specialties and expanding direct farm-to-consumer products.

Kim Taehyung, head of the food team at Lotte Home Shopping, said, "We will continue to discover outstanding domestic agricultural products and specialties and provide comprehensive support?from onboarding to marketing and content production?to fulfill our role as a distribution platform that promotes mutual growth with local communities."

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