Lotte Chilsung Beverage's zero-sugar soju "Saero" has surpassed a cumulative 800 million bottles sold in just over three years since its launch.
According to Lotte Chilsung on the 30th, after Saero's launch it carried out its first renewal early this year and has continued marketing centered on a pop-up store and a character universe.
Saero is a zero-sugar soju unveiled in mid-Sep. 2022. It does not use fructose and emphasizes a fresh and smooth taste. To preserve soju's inherent flavor, distilled soju was added, and nutrition labeling for alcoholic beverages was proactively applied. The package also carries a Korean aesthetic. It features vertical grooves that evoke the curves of porcelain and droplets running downward, and uses a clear bottle to highlight a premium, trendy image.
Consumer response also emerged quickly. About four months after launch, cumulative sales surpassed 50 million bottles; in about seven months, cumulative sales topped 100 million bottles, and by the end of last year, cumulative sales reached 800 million bottles.
Lotte Chilsung Beverage is also expanding the product lineup. In spring 2024 it introduced "Saero Apricot," which adds real apricot juice, and in spring last year it launched "Saero Darae," which contains kiwifruit juice. In May, it newly rolled out "Saero Omija," strengthening its fruit soju lineup.
◇ First renewal carried out… smoother taste enhanced with domestic rice distillate
At the end of Jan., Lotte Chilsung carried out the first renewal since Saero's launch. While maintaining the zero-sugar soju concept, it focused on enhancing a fresh and smooth taste.
Through this renewal, the existing barley rice distillate was changed to 100% domestic rice distillate. To differentiate from competing brands, five amino acids—leucine, isoleucine, valine, alanine, and arginine, collectively known as BCAA—were also added, the company said.
The package was also partially modified. The bottle-cap emblem symbolizing the tail of "Saerogumi," the brand ambassador character, was accented with mint, Saero's signature color, and the label logo was improved to increase readability. The gumiho's posture on the label was also changed to a light running pose to emphasize a dynamic image.
A pop-up store was also operated to promote the renewed product. Lotte Chilsung Beverage opened the "Saero Central Museum" in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, from Mar. 21 to Apr. 5. Under the premise that "the millennium-old secret book of Saero soju has been stolen," it was organized as an escape-room-style game in which visitors find traces of the secret book to restore it, drawing interest with a daily maximum of more than 1,000 visitors.
Lotte Chilsung Beverage has steadily continued offline experiential marketing since Saero's launch. To mark the first anniversary, starting in Sep. 2023 in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, it operated pop-up stores in Daejeon, Busan, and Daegu. From late Mar. to late Aug. last year, it ran the "Saero Dowon" pop-up store in Apgujeong, Seoul. Over about five months, cumulative visitors exceeded 40,000.
Saero's differentiated brand image also comes from the character "Saerogumi." Saerogumi is a brand ambassador character that combines Saero and a gumiho. From launch, Lotte Chilsung Beverage placed Saerogumi prominently on the product and ran ad campaigns using its universe, including the "Saero soju birth story."
These campaigns also delivered results at advertising and design awards. Saero and related campaigns won three crowns in 2024, including the Korea Advertising Awards, YouTube Works, and the K-Design Awards. At the end of Apr., it won a bronze in the creative strategy institutional sector at Spikes Asia 2025, an advertising festival in the Asia-Pacific region.
A Lotte Chilsung Beverage official said, "As a new trend in the domestic soju market, Saero will move beyond zero-sugar soju to become a leading standard-bearer of Korea's representative soju, and we plan to carry out active marketing activities to achieve that."