Freshly blended fruit smoothies sold at convenience stores are drawing strong demand in South Korea. Seven-Eleven's Japanese-original smoothie line topped 1 million cumulative units six months after launch, the convenience store industry said on the 19th.
Seven-Eleven's made-to-order smoothies are available at about 300 stores nationwide, reaching the 1 million mark quickly. Office districts accounted for the largest share of sales at 20%, and the drinks also proved popular with foreign tourists.
Seven-Eleven plans to sustain the momentum with new products including Seven Select Matcha Smoothie and Seven Select ABC Smoothie. The matcha version targets rising demand for cream-based desserts as the weather cools. The ABC Smoothie, aimed at health-conscious consumers, blends apple, beet and carrot.
At CU, sales of its six Real Smoothie flavors, introduced in June last year, rose 110.8% in June and July from a year earlier. Customers place a cup of frozen fruit on a dedicated machine, which produces a smoothie in about one minute. The lineup includes five varieties such as mixed berry, strawberry-banana and watermelon. The service is offered at about 300 stores nationwide, with plans to expand to about 500 by the end of the year.
GS25 was the first to enter the instant smoothie market, introducing the drinks at directly operated stores in December last year. During the test period, each store sold an average of 25.5 cups a day. Current flavors include mango-banana, strawberry-banana, strawberry-blueberry-mango and a green smoothie. As the "healthy pleasure" trend of pursuing both health and taste spreads, convenience store chains are rapidly expanding their health drink and ready-to-eat lineups.
