South Korea

After many years of growth, in 2023 toys and games in South Korea witnessed a notable current value decline, with traditional toys and games seeing only a slight fall in sales, and video games a stronger decrease. Toys and games witnessed a decrease…

In 2023, tanghulu (sugar-coated fruits on a bamboo skewer) emerged as the most prominent snacking mega-trend in the entire food industry in South Korea. The popularity of tanghulu began with mukbang YouTubers who focused on ASMR content, creating…

Within plant-based dairy in South Korea, plant-based milk was the only category with notable packaging volumes in 2023, as plant-based yoghurt and cheese are still in their early stages of development. Brick liquid cartons is the preferred pack type…

Men’s grooming maintained solid current value growth in South Korea in 2023. However, sales of premium men’s deodorants and premium men’s hair care products continued to be negligible, primarily because demand remains within the mass segment in these…

In 2022 and 2023, independent self-service cafeterias demonstrated double-digit growth in retail value sales. The primary driver behind this success was the popularity of local Korean cuisine buffets, which provide a rich variety of options, and…