(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean candy market has surpassed the size of the chewing gum market by a factor of three this year.
The Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. (aT) reported that South Korea’s candy market was worth 724 billion won (US$638 million) as of September, surpassing the size of the chewing gum market (254 billion won) by a factor of 2.8.
The gum market has been dwindling since 2015 after reaching a high of 321 billion won, while the candy market has grown by 29.7 percent since 2015, from 558 billion won to 724 billion won this year.
“Consumers are turning to candy instead of chewing gum as they increasingly look for herbal mint to freshen their breath and jellies for the joy of chewing,” aT said.
Lotte Confectionery dominated the chewing gum market with a 75.8 percent share, followed by Haitai Confectionery and Foods (10.1 percent) and Orion Confectionery (9.1 percent).
The candy market was led by Lotte Confectionery (23.5 percent), CJ Cheiljedang (6.7 percent), Trolli (3.5 percent) from Germany, and Tsang Lin (2.6 percent) from Taiwan, indicating tighter competition among manufacturers compared to the chewing gum market.
Chewing gum for dental care and anti-smoking were particularly popular among consumers.
Following the coronavirus outbreak, super-fresh, mint-flavored gum was also popular as people have been wearing protective masks all day long.
Candies gained popularity as more consumers shared food reviews on social media, with a number of rather unusual products such as Wax Bottle Candy gaining popularity.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
