Prolonged rainfall leads vegetable prices to spike, ice cream sales to drop

Consumers would face higher shopping cart prices this week, due to spikes in wholesale prices of various kinds of produce during the prolonged rainfall over weeks, according to the retail industry on Sunday. The unexpectedly prolonged rainfall is taking a toll on many of the country’s farm villages, which have damaged their crops and cut supplies, leading to spikes in agricultural prices. According to the data from Korea Agro-Fisheries&Food Trade, leafy vegetables such as cabbage,

Aug. 9, 2020

Dongwon F&B launches Beyond Meat in E-mart ‘Vegan Zones’

Dongwon F&B, the South Korean distributor of the US plant-based meat alternative Beyond Meat, said Thursday that it has launched the product at E-mart, the country’s largest supermarket chain by revenue. The company signed an exclusive contract in 2018 to import Beyond Meat from the US to Korea. After launching the flagship Beyond Burger in March 2019, it sold about 82,000 patties here last year, Dongwon F&B said. The company said it is offering Beyond Burger at the 21 E-mart

Aug. 6, 2020

Amorepacific begins sales of flagship cosmetics brands on Amazon

Amorepacific, a South Korean cosmetics giant, said Wednesday it launched two of its flagship brands, Amorepacific and Mamonde in US Amazon, as part of its efforts to expand presence in the US. ”It is an honor to present Amorepacific’s flagship brands to customers of the US Amazon,” an Amorepacific Group official said. “As online shopping is growing globally, we will continue for sturdy growth in the digital sector with Amorepacific and Mamonde.” Amorepacific s

Aug. 5, 2020

Non-contact travel trend boosts sales of camping, outdoor gear

The new coronavirus outbreak has given a big boost to domestic travel here amid disrupted air travel. But for some vacationers, visiting tourist attractions or using lodging facilities could still be the last thing they want to do. Against this backdrop, a new non-contact travel trend has gained traction in South Korea as more people are turning their eyes to outdoor camping and "chabak," a newly coined word that means sleeping and staying in a car during travel. A 31-year-old offic

Aug. 3, 2020

Lotte kin shoulder at least W450b in tax for late chairman's inherited assets

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and his siblings may have to pay at least 450 billion won ($378 million) in tax in South Korea for their late father's inherited assets, but their tax payment may swell when assets in Japan are counted. Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho died of a chronic illness at age 99 in January, survived by Dong-bin and three other adult children. Details about changes in their stakeholdings inherited from the late chairman were revealed Friday, the deadline for them to

July 31, 2020

Retails sales up 3.7% in H1, towed by e-commerce

Retail sales edged up 3.7 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, with the growth towed by e-commerce companies, government data revealed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy, total sales in the retail industry recorded 66.79 trillion won ($55.9 billion) on-year, up 3.7 percent. The growth rate appears to have slowed compared to previous years, as sales increased by 7.5 percent in 2018 and 5.6 percent in 2019. For the report,

July 30, 2020

Duty-free sales up for 2nd month in June but still below pre-pandemic level

Duty-free sales rose for the second straight month in June, but their sales still remained half of pre-pandemic figures, industry data showed Monday. Combined sales at duty-free shops in South Korea reached 1.11 trillion won ($923 million) in June, up 9.3 percent from a month earlier, according to the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. It marked the second straight month of gains since the figure fell below 1 trillion won for the first time in four years in April. Local duty-free operators w

July 27, 2020

Homeplus speeds up sale of stores to secure liquidity

Amid an overall slump in the retail industry in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, retailer chain Homplus is speeding up its asset securitization plan to sell physical stores in order to secure liquidity. On Friday, Hompeplus said it has decided to securitize a store branch in Daejeon, one week after the retailer announced plans to sell another branch in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The company’s move comes after it recorded the net loss of 532.2 billion won ($442.8 million) during the pe

July 26, 2020

Coupang's delivery workers doubled to reach 10,000

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Thursday that the number of its delivery workers has doubled in the last seven months to surpass 10,000. Coupang said its direct employment system is attractive to workers as it offers different benefits than other delivery service companies, allowing employees to work just five days a week and keeping the hours below 52 per week. The company also provides employment insurance and 15 days of annual leave, as stated in the law. The company also pays

July 23, 2020

Samyang Corp. Trusweet Allulose obtains kosher certificate

Korean food and chemical company Samyang Corp. said Thursday its food brand Trusweet Allulose obtained kosher certification from Orthodox Union. Samyang said it has worked to be verified as kosher, which confirms that the ingredients meets the dietary standards of traditional Jewish law, as part of its effort to present the product to the global kosher market valued at $250 billion.  Trusweet Allulose was also certified halal by the Korea Muslim Federation in February, the company added.

July 23, 2020

[Herald Interview] Absolut blends art, tech to reduce air pollution

Art has always been “in the DNA” of Absolut, one of the best-known spirits brands in the world. To promote contemporary art and support artists around the world, the vodka brand has taken part in numerous collaborative projects, including its famous work with Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. This time, Pernod Ricard Korea, which represents the vodka in South Korea, has taken a step further with its iconic brand by connecting technology and art in an effort to tackle air pollution, wh

July 21, 2020

New hobbies emerge for those in their 20s and 30s: Hiking, camping, golf

Hiking, camping and golf, activities often associated with older people in South Korea, are gaining popularity among people in their 20s and 30s in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a report said Tuesday. According to Gmarket, an e-commerce platform operated by eBay Korea, sales of items related to the three outdoor activities jumped by 24 percent in the first half of this year, compared with a year earlier. The e-commerce platform attributed the rise in popularity of the three activities am

July 21, 2020

GS25 says Disaronno sold most in mobile liquor orders

GS25 said Monday the bestselling product from its mobile app for wine and liquor orders was Disaronno, an Amaretto-tasting liqueur. Over 70 percent of wine orders made via the app were made outside of Seoul, it added. The convenience store chain launched the mobile app Wine25 Plus on July 13, allowing customers to order alcoholic beverages and pick them up from a nearby GS25 store. Analyzing the data for the past week, the convenience store operator revealed that 28.8 percent of liquor order

July 20, 2020

Paris Baguette launches monthly sandwich, coffee subscription

Paris Baguette, South Korea’s biggest bakery brand operated by SPC Group, said Monday it is testing a new subscription business by launching a monthly discount service for its coffee and sandwich menus. Usable once every day for 30 days, the subscription offers either coffee or a sandwich and coffee set, respectively priced at 19,800 won ($16.40) and 48,900 won. There will be 12 sandwich menu choices. Users can subscribe to the service on Happy App, the SPC Group’s mobile applicat

July 20, 2020

Silicon Valley engineer joins Coupang as new vice president to oversee Rocket Delivery

E-commerce giant Coupang has appointed software engineering expert Jeon Joon-hee as the new vice president of engineering for its express delivery service, the company said on Monday. Jeon, who has previously worked at global companies like Google and Uber, will focus on advancing Coupang’s express delivery service known as ”Rocket Delivery.“ “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the world is watching Coupang’s innovative delivery system, which is fast and precise.

July 20, 2020

Beer imports down for first time in decade

South Korean imports of beer fell for the first time last year in a decade, largely on a nationwide boycott of Japanese products amid a yearlong trade dispute, data showed Sunday. Imports of beer stood at 360,000 tons in 2019, down 7.2 percent from 387,000 tons a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. It marked the first on-year decrease since 2009, a sharp turnaround from a 17.1 percent hike in 2018 and a 50.2 percent jump in 2017. Local vendors largely a

July 19, 2020

'Hallyu' boosts demand for Korean ice cream in Vietnam: report

South Korea's exports of ice cream to Vietnam jumped 30 percent in 2019 from a year earlier on the back of the growing popularity of Korean culture in Southeast Asia, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of ice cream to Vietnam reached $7 million in 2019, rising sharply from $5.3 million a year earlier, according to the report released by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). In contrast, Thailand, the top player in the segment, saw its ice cream exports to Vietnam only edge

July 19, 2020

Korea Yakult, KIOST sign MOU for commercialization of Spirulina extract

Korea Yakult announced Friday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with a government institution to lay the groundwork for development of a marine microalga-derived material that improves cognitive abilities and helps prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The company -- a household name in the yogurt and fermented dairy product market in South Korea -- will join hands with Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to jointly co

July 17, 2020

Craft beer fizzes with rising popularity in Korea

Craft beer is expanding its market share in South Korea, with sales at convenience stores seeing a surge in recent months. According to convenience store chain CU, the sales of craft beer products surged by 390.8 percent from January to June on-year. In March, the sales portion of craft beer products outstripped other brands produced by large liquor makers with 50.3 percent. Another convenience store chain GS25 also said the sales of beer products manufactured by microbreweries jumped by 293

July 17, 2020

'Hallyu' tourists spent $1,007 on average in 2019, BTS most favored: report

Foreigners who traveled to South Korea last year to consume K-pop goods and content were estimated to have spent $1,007 on average, according to a report Thursday. In its latest tourism industry analysis report, the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) estimated that some 1.11 million foreigners came to South Korea in 2019 to specifically consume goods and experiences related to "hallyu," a term referring to the global popularity of Korean pop culture, last year. On average, $

July 16, 2020