Lotte Homeshopping's L:Bottle drink to expand into department stores, convenience stores

Lotte Homeshopping announced Monday it will expand the offline retail network for Spike Zero, the first product under its in-house wellness drink brand L:Bottle.

Spike Zero launched in January after roughly a year of research and development. It uses a patented dual-compartment container that lets consumers take a drink and functional supplement pellets together in a single serving. The product uses organic ingredients — including domestic matcha, baobab leaves from India and apple cider vinegar from Italy — and is designed to help with blood sugar management.

The product launched on the crowdfunding platform Wadiz before expanding to major e-commerce channels. Since its launch, monthly order volume has grown by an average of 70 percent.

Lotte Homeshopping is now moving to expand its offline presence in the second half of the year. After supplying the product to the exclusive lounge for "Black" members — Lotte Department Store's top VIP tier — at the flagship Myeong-dong and Jamsil locations in April, the company extended supply to Avenuel-tier lounges as well. A pop-up store at the Myeong-dong flagship last month drew an average of about 1,000 visitors a day, prompting the company to roll out the product to food halls at Lotte Department Store locations nationwide.

The company is also diversifying its sales channels. An encore pop-up store at the Myeong-dong flagship runs through Thursday, and the brand will also enter Seven-Eleven convenience stores. Sales through Olive Better, a wellness curation platform, are set to begin next month.

"We will continue to diversify our retail channels and strengthen the product's competitiveness to develop L:Bottle into a leading wellness brand across both online and offline," said Jeon Ho-jin, head of Lotte Homeshopping's growth strategy division.