Convenience store GS25, operated by GS Retail(007070), said on the 7th it will push a full-change renewal of its lunchboxes to boost the quality competitiveness of its Fresh Food ready-to-eat meals.
Since early this year, GS25 has been overhauling items such as kimbap, rice balls, and sandwiches in stages. Lunchboxes are the fourth in the full-change renewal. The key to the lunchbox overhaul is to strengthen the quality and assortment of side dishes to deliver "a proper meal."
An analysis of lunchbox purchase data by GS25 found that consumers consider the "overall quality of side dishes" the most important factor when choosing a lunchbox. The types and number of side dishes were also was found to be major purchase drivers.
Accordingly, GS25 reorganized the main dishes around popular items such as spicy pork, chicken, bulgogi, and hamburger steak. It also improved cooking processes, including texture, seasoning, and the combination of materials and supplies, tailored to each menu's ingredient characteristics.
It also expanded offerings that include two or more main dishes in a single product. The goal is to diversify the lineup so customers can enjoy multiple menus at once.
Side dishes focus on items commonly eaten at home, such as rolled omelet, stir-fried fish cake, stir-fried seasoned dried squid, cucumber muchim, stir-fried mushrooms, and kimchi and pickles.
In revamping side dishes, GS25 also referenced the table settings of well-known set-meal restaurants. It reflected in its lunchbox products the side dish types and assortments frequently used at actual set-meal restaurants and their combinations with main dishes.
Toppings tailored to each lunchbox menu, such as grilled pork neck and mini soft-boiled fried eggs, will be added on top of the rice. It also newly developed and will include "Hyejagim," a seaweed product dedicated to lunchboxes.
GS25 will launch "Hyejaroun Jipbap: hearty spicy pork and chicken nanban" on the 8th, and unveil "Hyejaroun Jipbap: juicy hamburger steak and soy-sauce bulgogi" on the 15th. It plans to complete the overhaul of all lunchbox products by next month.
Hong Hye-seung, GS Retail FF team MD, said, "We will comprehensively improve taste, assortment, and cooking quality to enhance competitiveness so that convenience store lunchboxes are chosen not as a simple substitute but as a full meal."