Likes of 7-Eleven and GS25 increase their fresh produce offering and receive a positive response from consumers
Convenience stores in Korea are adding more fresh produce options to attract consumers searching for smaller portions.
According to a report from the Korea Times, the number of one-person households continues to grow in Korea and these consumers are increasingly attracted by the accessibility of convenience stores and are shopping for their fruits and vegetables there.
7-Eleven launched its private label fresh produce brand Seven Farm in 2021 to 1,300 stores across Korea. The move has played a factor in the company’s sales growing threefold in the past year. It plans to increase the number of stores selling Seven Farm products to 2,000 on the back of this success.
“We have gained our customers’ trust in fresh food products by launching our own brand and standardising their packaging designs. We also specified the origin of items to emphasise the quality of vegetables and fruits, which turned out to be successful,” a 7-Eleven official said.
GS25 also operates its private brand of fresh produce in collaboration with GS Retail’s supermarket firm. This helped the convenience store to directly purchase products from local farms and reduce their unit price. GS25’s fresh food sales last month increased 41.3 percent year-on-year.
“Nowadays, people don’t just pay money for cheap products. They look for high quality vegetables and fruits that they can find at large supermarkets. We will continue to let more customers discover our private brand,” a GS25 official said.
