Exclusive items and collaboration products that are hard to find in other retail channels are becoming a new formula for success at South Korea's convenience stores. By quickly rolling out everything from desserts trending on social media to products aimed at character and sports fandoms, these differentiated offerings are driving up convenience store earnings.
Sales of differentiated products at major convenience store operators — GS25, CU and Seven Eleven — all rose more than 20% this year, according to the retail industry on the 15th. At GS25, sales of such products climbed 27.5% from a year earlier. As products combining content and fandom drove strong sales, cumulative sales of the main differentiated products launched this year surpassed 20 million units. A line of collaboration products with the virtual idol group PLAVE, introduced in January, sold 1.3 million units, while a series of ready-to-eat meals — lunch boxes, gimbap and rice balls tied to the show "Culinary Class Wars 2," launched in February — sold 8 million units. A "Hyeja-roun Bread" series introduced in March also recorded 4 million units in sales.
At CU, sales of differentiated products in the first half of this year rose 22.1% from the same period last year. Hit products followed one after another. The "Dubai Chewy Cookie," launched in January, recorded cumulative sales of 15 million units on the back of a social media craze. The "Yonsei Heart Fresh Cream Bread" sold 1.1 million units within two months of its release, and a ube series introduced in April topped 700,000 units in sales.
Sales of differentiated products at Seven Eleven rose 21% from a year earlier. Sales results for its main products stood out as well. The "Jersey Milk Pudding" sold 2.8 million units and the "Strong Sour" series sold 2.5 million units. The "2026 KBO Official Collection Card," riding the popularity of professional baseball, sold 3.8 million units and established itself as a leading fandom product.
Convenience stores are also expanding the range of their differentiated products. Whereas they previously competed mainly in food such as lunch boxes, desserts and bread, they have recently been broadening their scope to household goods and fashion and beauty items. GS25 recently launched a series of beauty products, including nail care sets, brushes and eyelashes, aimed at female customers. The idea is to extend a differentiated-product strategy that succeeded in food into everyday-lifestyle items and draw out new demand.
Meanwhile, the industry points to rapid product-planning capabilities and a nationwide store network as the core competitive strengths behind convenience stores' differentiated products. When a particular dessert or food becomes a talking point on social media, the strategy of turning it into a product before the trend cools — and adding well-known content and sports and character fandoms to pull consumers into stores — is proving effective.
The success of these differentiated products is also helping the convenience store sector rebound. Convenience store sales in the first half of this year rose 3.7% from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. That marks a clear turnaround from last year, when annual sales fell 1.0%, a contraction. June sales in particular rose 5.1% from a year earlier, with growth accelerating further.
"Convenience stores are one of the retail channels that can turn consumption trends into products the fastest," an industry official said. "Recently, moving beyond simply increasing the number of new products, offering items that are hard to find in other channels by tapping into social media buzz and content fandoms has established itself as a core competitive strength."
