Pharmaceutical companies are opening pop-up stores to target consumers. A pop-up store refers to a temporary store that operates uniquely for a short period and then closes. Pharmaceutical companies are utilizing these pop-up stores as a means to communicate their corporate identity and products to a new generation.
Dong-A Pharm, a subsidiary of Dong-A Socio Holdings focused on over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, opened the "Eul Doctor" pop-up store at Caribbean Bay, a water park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on the 6th. Eul Doctor is a product that mixes ice and soda with Dong-A Pharm's Bacchus. Bacchus, which contains taurine and vitamins, is a fatigue recovery drink that hit the market in the 1960s. Dong-A Pharm launched Eul Doctor in collaboration with GS25 convenience stores in June, inspired by how people mix Bacchus with other beverages. Eul Doctor sold a cumulative 1 million cans within a month of its launch.
Dong-A Pharm themed the pop-up store around hunting down the summer heat. With a blue ocean backdrop, surfboards were placed around to create a seasonal vibe. Visitors enjoying water activities could play water gun games or browse souvenirs such as stickers and fans at the pop-up store. A representative from Dong-A Pharm noted, "We opened this pop-up store to promote the refreshing Eul Doctor." The pop-up store will continue operations until the 17th.
Earlier, Dong-A Pharm opened a pop-up store for Park Flavor Jelly (Bacchus-flavored jelly) near Hongdae Station in Seoul last April. Bacchus-flavored jelly is a product that transforms the drink Bacchus into a chewable jelly form. Dong-A Pharm collaborated with game company Genshin and opened the pop-up store to celebrate this product. 2,000 people who had made reservations visited to purchase drinks and desserts made with the jelly and participated in a target game. Life-sized cutouts of game characters and souvenirs like cushions and badges were displayed throughout the venue.
HANDOK held a pop-up exhibition titled "Comfortable Stomach Laboratory in Chungbuk" in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, on the 6th of June. The exhibition introduced Festal, a digestive aid that has been loved for over 60 years. Festal is the first tablet-type digestive aid launched in Korea in 1958. HANDOK has been producing Festal since 1959 after transferring the manufacturing technology from Germany's Hest (now Sanofi).
The exhibition featured games designed to reduce stress, akin to whack-a-mole, promoting the theme of living comfortably like the effects of Festal. Other activities included puzzle-making, key ring crafting, and a DJ experience. Singer Harim also held a digestive aid concert. The pop-up exhibition saw over 20,000 visitors. Kim Young-jin, chairman of HANDOK, stated, "It was meaningful to communicate with the Chungbuk community." The HANDOK factory is located in Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do.
Kyungnam Pharm opened a Lemon pop-up store at a café in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul, last February. Lemon is the first powdered Vitamin C product released in Korea in 1983. Customers purchasing drinks at the café received Lemon Chewing (chewing candy) as a gift and various Lemon products were offered at discounted prices.
Recently, the "inner beauty" market, signifying the idea of enhancing outward beauty through internal health, has been rapidly growing. This market focuses on health supplements for beauty. Kyungnam Pharm opened a pop-up store in Myeongdong to promote its inner beauty product, Lemon, to overseas tourists.
Pharmaceutical companies have opened pop-up stores centered around their decades-old best-selling products. Companies with pop-up stores said, "We can convey our corporate identity through longevity products and reach out to a new generation," adding that they are providing unique experiences that can only be found at the pop-up stores to help consumers feel more familiar.
This is not the first pop-up store for pharmaceutical companies. Dongwha Pharm opened a pop-up store for its digestive aid Hwalmyungsoo, celebrating the product's birth and the company's 125th anniversary, in the Seoul Forest café street in Seongsu-dong in 2022. Last year, pop-up stores for the painkiller Tylenol and the hangover remedy Sanghyeok-hwan also opened in Seongsu-dong.