‘Lunch-flation’ shifts Korean purchasing habits

Korean convenience stores are seeing a sharp upturn in sales as Korean office-workers react to rapidly rising restaurant prices.

Context

Korean government figures show the price of restaurant dishes grew 7.4% in May, with prices for some of the most popular dishes growing even faster – galbitang (beef stew with rice) was up 12.2%, for example, while nengmyun (cold noodles) was up 8.1%, breaking a psychological barrier of 10,000 won in the process. 

Why it matters

Koreans take their lunch hour seriously and have generally resisted western ‘al desko’ eating habits, preferring to patronise local restaurants. But a recent survey found 96% of 1,004 office workers saying they now find lunch prices onerous; almost half of those said they were looking for ways to cut their lunch spending. There are opportunities that can be exploited by food brands and retailers. 

What’s happening

An option for those seeking to cut costs has been to turn to convenience stores which offer instant noodles, sandwiches, and gimbap (rice rolls) for around 6,000 won or less.

One convenience shop chain, GS25, posted more than 30% increases in sales of instant meals in January-May versus a year ago, according to Reuters, and has now launched a meal subscription service that offers price discounts and deliveries to offices.

Rivals have seen similar surges in demand, with one, Emart24, reporting a 50% jump in lunch-box sales in areas with a large number of office blocks. 

Key quote

“Real purchasing power is shrinking amid fierce inflation pressures, but people don’t want to cut down evening gatherings they just started, while on lunches they can” – Lee Seung-hoon, chief economist at Meritz Securities.

Sourced from Rappler