South Korea's convenience stores are expanding sales of health supplements, betting on a growing "healthy pleasure" trend that has drawn younger shoppers seeking affordable, on-the-go wellness products.
CU, the convenience store chain operated by BGF Retail, is adding health supplements to about 2,000 more stores and broadening its lineup of domestic and foreign brands and single-serving multivitamins under what it calls a "Healthcare 2.0" strategy, the industry said on the 11th.
CU became the first convenience store chain in the country to sell health supplements last July, starting at about 6,000 stores nationwide. It built its lineup around small-portion, single-serving products priced at an average of less than 5,000 won, suited to the habits of convenience store shoppers. Cumulative sales have topped 1.3 million units since the July launch.
Building on that growth, CU plans to expand the number of stores carrying health supplements further this year to improve customer access. It will roll out products in stages, including Rotback Schön's Immune Shot, Chong Kun Dang's MultiVita All-in-One Shot and I'm Vita Mega Pack, Multivitamin Lucky Energy Shot, Tiger Morning Ginger Shot and Tiger Morning Berry Shot.
The company is also strengthening its general health-food lineup. Unlike certified health functional foods, general health foods are sold as ordinary food products and can be stocked at CU stores nationwide without separate approval, making them more accessible to customers, the company said.
Health supplements have also been a strong seller at GS25. The chain posted second-quarter revenue of 2.38 trillion won ($1.7 billion), up 7.1% from a year earlier, and operating profit of 71.4 billion won ($51 million), up 21%. GS25 said its health-supplement sales rose 98% over the past year.
Why health supplements are catching on
Analysts see the MZ generation — Koreans in their 20s and 30s — at the center of the health-supplement market. According to an industry official, sales growth among middle-aged shoppers is slowing while the share of sales from younger consumers is rising. "Fundamentally, people in their 20s and 30s spend 'for themselves,'" said Lee Young-ae, a professor of consumer science at Incheon National University. "Many of them likely try buying small-portion, low-priced supplements they come across by chance while stopping by a convenience store."
South Korea's health-supplement market is growing every year. According to the Korea Health Supplement Association, more than four in 10 people manage their own health concerns through health functional foods, and the domestic market has grown more than fivefold, from 1.2 trillion won in 2005 to 6.044 trillion won in 2024. Market researcher Euromonitor projects the market will expand to 8.29 trillion won by 2028.
