"Japan dominates the world with sake, a type of clear rice wine, and China with baijiu, a distilled spirit. The Korean traditional liquor to put forward in overseas markets is ultimately makgeolli."
At a makgeolli tasting for Seoul Jangsu's new product "Teazen Kombucha Liquor Lemon" held on the afternoon of the 10th at a restaurant in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Yoon Beom-jin, Director General of sales and marketing at Seoul Jangsu, said the potential of makgeolli in the global market "is also tied to the opportunity to promote our country's food culture." With each country's representative liquors established in the global market, the point is that Korea, too, should grow makgeolli into a competitive item.
Aligning with this trend, Seoul Jangsu on the 12th of last month released a new product that captures "trendiness" aimed at the MZ generation (born from the late 1980s to the early 2000s). The new "Teazen Kombucha Liquor Lemon" makgeolli is a low-alcohol drink co-developed by Seoul Jangsu and Teazen, a fermented beverage specialist. It breaks away from the traditional image of makgeolli and reflects the wellness and light-drinking trend. In particular, to increase access for younger consumers, it has been stocked at all four major convenience store chains—CU, GS25, 7-Eleven and Emart24. Fifteen0,000 units were sold in the first month after launch.
Based on the domestic response, Seoul Jangsu also plans to expand into overseas markets in parallel. The overseas export market for makgeolli is about 25 billion won. Of that, KOOKSOONDANG BREWERY accounts for about 10 billion won, Seoul Jangsu for 4 billion won and Jipyeong Makgeolli for around 1 billion won, it said. A Seoul Jangsu official said, "KOOKSOONDANG BREWERY's flagship product 'Baekseju' is a sterilized product, so it entered overseas markets about 20 years earlier and secured key markets first," adding, "We are also operating a sterilized product line for overseas expansion."
Seoul Jangsu is positioning the sterilized production line at its Jincheon plant in North Chungcheong as the core infrastructure for its export strategy. The Jincheon plant produces sterilized products with a shelf life of up to 90 days. The new Teazen Kombucha Liquor Lemon makgeolli is also produced there. Seoul Jangsu plans to pursue an expansion strategy that extends from younger generations to overseas markets, based on the trendy response at home.
A Seoul Jangsu official said, "After fully verifying the product in the domestic market, we plan to expand launches into overseas distribution networks such as the United States, with the Jincheon plant as a base," adding, "We will continuously strengthen product completeness and distribution infrastructure to make makgeolli that resonates overseas."