Kurly sees 35% jump in packaged kimchi sales as more Koreans skip homemade

Kurly said Tuesday that demand for packaged kimchi is rising as the number of one- and two-person households continues to grow, with more consumers seeking a convenient alternative to making kimchi at home.

Packaged kimchi transactions on the platform climbed 35 percent year-on-year in the three months from July through last month, Kurly said. Small-sized products drove much of the growth: transactions for products in the 100-gram to 1-kilogram range surged 39 percent from a year earlier, outpacing mid-sized products in the 2- to 4-kilogram range, which rose 26 percent, and large-sized products in the 5- to 10-kilogram range, which gained 18 percent. Kurly attributed the strong performance of smaller packages to their convenience and practicality, particularly among one- and two-person households.

Kurly's own-brand products are also gaining traction. Last September, the company teamed up with CJ CheilJedang to launch "Jeil Matge Kurly" whole-cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi. As of this September, transactions for the two products had risen 56 percent since their launch a year earlier. The Jeil Matge Kurly radish kimchi ranked first in the overall radish kimchi category.

"Siwonhan Baechu Kimchi" from Kurly's in-house brand Kurly's posted a 58 percent year-on-year increase in transactions over the same three-month period. A 1.5-kilogram small-format version packaged in half-head portions for added convenience ranked second across the entire kimchi category.

"As cabbage prices have risen sharply, more consumers are looking to skip the effort and cost of making kimchi themselves and simply pick a product that suits their taste," a Kurly official said.