A customer chooses meal kits at a retail outlet in Seoul on Jan. 18, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s meal kit market still remains active unlike expectations that it would contract after the lifting of social distancing rules, as ready-to-eat meal products are still popular as an alternative to dining out amid a period of prolonged inflation.
E-Mart24 Inc., the convenience store arm of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae, said its stores saw sales of meal kits rise by 274 percent during the June to December period of last year compared to a year earlier.
In light of the sales volume by type of district, residential areas dominated by single-person households accounted for the largest share at 48 percent, followed by general residential areas at 21 percent and office districts at 9 percent.
Of special note, the largest share of sales were made between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with this period accounting for 23.3 percent of total sales.
E-Mart24 suggested that an increasing number of consumers opted to purchase meal kits at convenience stores after work, instead of eating out, due to soaring consumer prices.
Some pointed out that the overall quality of meal kit products has increased as meal kit companies focus on premium offerings to improve competitiveness amid concerns about a possible decline in demand.
According to market researcher Euromonitor, the size of South Korea’s meal kit market was estimated to have grown to 336.3 billion won (US$269 million) last year from 258.7 billion won in 2021.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
