CU to Launch Full-Scale Sales of Health Functional Foods... 6,000 Specialized Stores Selected Nationwide

Authorization and Registration to Be Completed by Mid-Month
Preparing to Launch Around 10 Products
Plans to Introduce Differentiated Products Through Collaboration With Pharmaceutical Companies

BGF Retail announced on July 1 that its convenience store chain CU will begin full-scale sales of health functional foods, which have emerged as a new growth engine in the distribution industry, starting this month.

Health supplements sold at CU stores. Provided by BGF Retail

Since the beginning of this year, CU has been providing advance information and promoting the sale of health functional foods to franchise owners through product conventions and other means. The official launch was originally scheduled for the first quarter of next year, but the company decided to move up the timeline by about six months after witnessing a stronger-than-expected consumer response.

Since last month, CU has been recruiting stores nationwide to specialize in health functional foods. Unlike ordinary products, health functional foods can only be sold after each store completes a specific process and obtains sales authorization from the local government, making franchisee applications essential.

As a result of the recruitment, approximately 6,000 stores across the country expressed their intention to introduce health functional foods within just one week. This figure represents about 32% of all CU stores nationwide, which number approximately 18,000.

CU plans to complete the authorization and registration process for stores that applied to specialize in health functional foods by mid-month, and will continue to introduce exclusive, differentiated products available only at CU. The company is preparing to launch the first batch of around 10 health functional food products by the end of this month. In addition, CU plans to continuously introduce products in collaboration with well-known pharmaceutical companies with specialized expertise, offering small-sized, high-quality, and reasonably priced items tailored to the main customer base of convenience stores.

Hwang Jiseon, head of the processed foods team at BGF Retail, said, "By leveraging the unique accessibility of convenience stores to strengthen their role as a primary purchase channel for health functional foods, we expect significant benefits in terms of enhanced customer convenience, increased sales, and market expansion. We will systematically expand both the number of stores selling health functional foods and the product lineup."

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