Lee Myung-rang, head of the food business division at LOTTE Wellfood, said on the 29th, "We can quickly grasp changing trends through big data based on retail," and noted, "It has now been revealed through big data that the five needs of Maslow, which used to be considered the marketers' Bible, are also changing."
On the same day, Lee explained during a lecture at ChosunBiz's '2025 Future Finance Forum' event held at The Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, that "It took as long as 8 years to completely build the big data system while growing together with marketers, and the products created based on this are definitely successful."
Lee introduced various data-driven marketing examples. A representative case is Zero Pepsi Lemon flavor. Lee stated, "When analyzing consumer data, we found that consumers seeking zero-calorie drinks were not satisfied with the taste of the existing product, Coca-Cola Zero," and added, "Based on this, we developed a Zero Pepsi Lemon product that is almost identical in taste to the existing Pepsi product, which received a huge response and even led to a situation where it was re-exported overseas."
Lee also explained the story behind the birth of another representative zero product, 'Saero.' Lee said, "However, the needs of the target demographic for soju, college students in their 20s, were to prove their pride through soju while wanting to avoid getting drunk," and explained, "At the time of developing Saero, there were no alcoholic beverages below 16 degrees, but reflecting the consumer need to avoid getting drunk, we released a low-alcohol soju."
Lee stated, "I came from a food company, but whether it's a financial company or a food company, the points of concern are the same in two ways," and added, "One is who my consumers, my customers are, and the second is what they want." She continued, "The most certain way to show this and point the way forward is through big data and AI technology."