GS25's Hyejarooun brand tops W500b in cumulative sales

GS25 announced Thursday that cumulative sales of Hyejarooun, its ready-meal brand relaunched in 2023, have surpassed 500 billion won ($373 million) in three years.

Hyejarooun positions itself on affordable prices and high quality. The brand started with meal-focused items such as dosirak, kimbap and rice balls before expanding into salads, instant noodles and bakery products.

According to GS25, 90 percent of Hyejarooun customers return to GS25 stores — a higher rate than buyers of other products. Their average spending per visit runs about 42 percent above that of general customers, and they make roughly 10 percent more purchases per year.

GS25 has been rolling out a brand renewal since September. The most visible change is the packaging design, which now centers on large typographic treatment of the brand name. The company also developed a proprietary typeface called GS Hyejarooun.

The company is also expanding products and marketing campaigns aimed at consumers in their 20s. A new dessert lineup will kick off with the Hyejarooun Dubai Chewy Cookie, launching Thursday, and GS25 will run a campaign called "The Beginning of the Hyejarooun K-BAP Universe," which frames Korean rice-based food culture as global content.

"We will grow Hyejarooun into a ready-meal brand for all generations through product renewals and brand marketing," said Lee Jeong-pyo, head of the marketing division at GS Retail.