Liquor companies in South Korea are revving up their engines to attract more public attention and increase their sales quickly. Jay Park's soju product, 'ONE SOJU', has been taking Korean consumers by storm and running out of stock due to its enormous popularity since its rollout.
According to GS Retail, on the 20th, 'One Soju Spirit', which has been on the shelves since the 12th, sold more than 200 thousand for the first week(until the 19th). It topped the sales competition over liquor in South Korea during the period.
'One Soju Spirit' is the second product of the 'One Soju' series, made in the traditional Korean distillation process. Jay Park established a local agricultural company for production in Wonju, Gangwondo Province. 'One Soju Spirit' costs 12,900 won(appx. $10), which is slightly pricey, but it's on fire, especially catching the MZ generation's eyes.
As a result of the craze, Korean celebrities such as Im Chang-jeong(임창정) and Lee Seon-hee(이선희) have rolled out their alcoholic beverages to keep up with the trend. Im Chang-jeong released '임창정미숫가루막걸리(Im Chang-jeong Misugaru Makgeolli)' -- Misugaru means grain powder; Makgeolli is Korean traditional rice wine -- last May. He is expected to release '소주한잔(Soju Hanjan)' in collaboration with Seven Eleven next month. It is said that he has enthusiastically participated in the production process and brought up ideas for the taste and design of the product.
Apart from that, 'Squeeze Brewery', a craft beer company, released two kinds of 'J에게 맥주(J Egè Maekju, To J Beer)' along with singer Lee Seon-hee on the last 13th. 'Top(Choi Seung-hyeon)' of Bigbang has been preparing for the rollout of his new wine recently. Budweiser Korea has launched a limited edition beer, using Korean singer Boa as a model.
This trend, utilising celebrities' influence to promote items, has been domineering in marketing strategies. A certain industry official says: 'No other marketing strategies but only celebrity marketing have been effective so far. As Jay Park's One Soju has hit the liquor market, products aiming to be the next 'One Soju' will likely keep coming out in the market for a while.
WORDS BY
Minsu Kim - koreaonthescreen@gmail.com
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