High-protein kimbap and low-sugar triangle kimbap and other health-concept products are driving growth across the entire ready-to-eat category.
GS Retail(007070) said on the 27th that GS25's two high-protein kimbap items launched in stages on Apr. 28 — ▲ tuna egg kimbap ▲ egg pollack roe mayo kimbap — surpassed a cumulative 1.5 million units sold. The products raise protein content to around 15g and use half-oil mayonnaise.
During the same period, triangle kimbap with reduced sugar and fat, such as ▲ light tuna mayo triangle kimbap ▲ low-sugar Jeonju bibim triangle kimbap, also exceeded a cumulative 1 million units sold. The combined cumulative sales of health-concept kimbap and triangle kimbap surpassed 2.5 million units.
The rise in sales of health ready-to-eat meals also led to growth of the overall category. From Apr. 28 to Jul. 24, GS25's kimbap and triangle kimbap sales each increased 25% from a year earlier.
GS25 is also releasing "cheese pork cutlet kimbap" as the third installment of its high-protein kimbap series. By adding Sangha protein string cheese and pork cutlet, the product raises protein content to 17g, the highest among GS25 kimbap.
Demand for health-concept products is also expanding in the beverage category. In the first half of this year (January–June), GS25's protein drink sales rose 26.8% from a year earlier and, for the first time, surpassed sales in the banana milk category. Protein drink sales were 3.7% higher than banana milk, and 44.6% and 158% higher than chocolate milk and strawberry milk, respectively.
An Jin-ung of GS Retail's FF team, an MD, said, "As health-conscious consumption spreads, high-protein kimbap and others are becoming core products that create new demand for ready-to-eat meals," and added, "GS25 will continue to expand health-concept products to attract new customers and keep growing the market size of the ready-to-eat category."