With the 27th designated as a temporary holiday, the Lunar New Year holiday period has unexpectedly lengthened. The government's intent was to stimulate domestic consumption, but consumer focus is now on traveling abroad. The travel platform Trip.com projected that the number of domestic travelers going abroad during this year's Lunar New Year holiday period (25th to 30th) would increase by about 73% compared to last year's holiday period.

New World International CI. /Courtesy of New World International

According to the related industry on the 15th, convenience stores, which were hoping to benefit from the Lunar New Year holiday, recently found themselves in a dilemma. The convenience store sector has been releasing special holiday lunch boxes for each holiday to cater to the 'single celebration group' preparing their meals, but if this group chooses to go abroad, the sales volume may decrease. The term 'single celebration group' refers to individuals spending the holiday alone. With an increase in one-person households opting not to travel during the holiday, convenience stores have recently created lunch boxes to help these individuals enjoy a simple holiday experience.

The fastest to release a holiday lunch box for this Lunar New Year is GS25. GS25 has planned this year's New Year lunch box in a royal court cooking style known as gujeolpan. The lunch box is prepared in a special container divided into a total of nine sections, three horizontally and three vertically, featuring nine selected menus including the representative dishes of the holiday.

Changes were also made to the typical lunch box composition, which includes one type of rice and various side dishes. Customers can choose from three rice options, including abalone rice, black rice, and kimchi fried rice, alongside six representative Lunar New Year dishes such as bulgogi, neobi-ani, assorted jeon, and three-color seasoned vegetables.

Compared to previous years, the quantity has also increased about twofold. The image of 'Lunar New Year food available at GS25' is being established, and considering the sales trends from last year's Lunar New Year and Chuseok holiday periods, it was calculated that increasing the quantity more aggressively would not be a concern.

CU decided on its product composition and planning a week later than GS25. CU plans to introduce '11-compartment holiday lunch boxes' and new year's tteok mandu-guk this Lunar New Year. The holiday lunch box includes 11 dishes that can be enjoyed during the holiday, such as jeon, japchae, namul, and pork bulgogi, along with dessert in the form of sweet rice cake. The new year's tteok mandu-guk features rice, diced radish, and kimchi pancake served as a complete meal. 7-Eleven plans to release a lunch box with holiday dishes as side items the week before the holiday.

The issue is quantity. Since they are lunch boxes, the shelf life is somewhat limited, making it essential to match quantities without inventory issues. A convenience store industry official noted, “We plan to determine the quantity based on past Lunar New Year periods, but the sudden addition of a temporary holiday has introduced variables.”

Whether released quickly or slowly, those offering holiday lunch boxes face similar concerns. Those who proactively released lunch boxes did not incorporate the temporary holiday as a variable and have finalized their quantities, while those who released their lunch boxes later are contemplating how much demand for international travel will impact their plans. There is still limited information regarding how actively consumers will pursue meals from convenience stores during the holiday while traveling abroad.

A convenience store merchandise planner said, “Since launching holiday lunch boxes has been a recent practice in the last 1 to 2 years, the situation won't be completely the same, but I am considering determining quantities conservatively based on the sales trends from when the holiday lasted nine consecutive days.”

The unexpectedly designated temporary holiday has created unanticipated considerations. Attention is being drawn to which sectors will benefit or suffer from the extended Lunar New Year holiday and which business divisions will have similar outcomes.