Convenience store CU, operated by BGF Retail, said on the 3rd it will roll out seven ready-to-eat items in collaboration with CJ CheilJedang's "Bibigo Mandu."
The collaboration is characterized by placing whole Bibigo Mandu in every product to highlight its distinctive flavor and juices. Two king dumpling kimbap varieties (meat, kimchi; 3,400 won each) feature three Bibigo king dumplings in a single kimbap roll to emphasize umami. The 3XL mulmandu gangjeong triangular kimbap (1,900 won) enhances texture by adding a sweet-and-spicy tteokbokki sauce to fried mulmandu.
Targeting winter demand, tteok-mandu-guk (5,700 won) combines bone broth with meat king dumplings, kimchi king dumplings, and rice cakes to deliver deep flavor. The neobiani & king dumpling set lunch box (5,500 won) includes fried dumplings, boiled dumplings, neobiani, and four Korean side dishes, carrying a "K-lunch box" concept that foreign customers can easily approach.
The king dumpling hot dog (3,600 won) reinterprets fried king dumplings coated in gangjeong sauce into a hot dog format served with salad, while the fried dumpling burger (3,200 won) contains two whole Bibigo fried dumplings.
CU introduced a series of differentiated ready-to-eat meals with Nongshim and Otoki last year, as well as the distribution industry's first bread series in collaboration with CJ CheilJedang. Using CJ CheilJedang's flagship brands, the four premium chilled breads leveraged differentiation by adding Bibigo dumpling filling, grains of rice from Hetbahn, Baeksul sauces, and diced chestnuts from Matbam, selling 300,000 units in about six months.
Kim Bae-geun, head of the ready-to-eat foods team at BGF Retail, said, "We will continue efforts to provide distinctive K-food experiences and expand our role as a global K-trend platform."