Korean convenience stores push exports of own brand products

South Korean convenience store chains are accelerating exports of food products under their private brands as the domestic market competition is intensifying with fast-growing e-commerce platforms.

CU, a major convenience store chain, will launch the cheese-flavored instant noodle of its private label Heyroo at Japanese big-box store giant Don Quixote in April. The discount retailer will import 30,000 units of the noodles and then expand the quantity and number of items based on sales trends, CU operator BGF Retail Co. said on Monday.

The cheese-flavored item appealed to the Japanese retailer as it is less spicy than other Korean instant noodles, a BGF official said. CU spent a year pitching and then signing the deal with the retailer, which runs about 450 stores across Japan, the official added.

CU is targeting markets where Korean food is growing in popularity. The convenience store chain will start selling beers and highballs of its private label at ParknShop, one of the largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, next month.

The ongoing Korean food craze abroad backs convenience stores’ global expansion. More customers in CU stores in overseas markets, such as Mongolia and Malaysia, are buying its private label products of good quality at lower prices than other brands, a CU official said. The convenience store chain aims for $10 million in exports this year.

Lotte Group’s convenience store chain 7-Eleven also launched Honey Butter Popcorn and Butter Garlic Baguette, two snacks under its private label 7-Select, at its stores in Hawaii earlier this month.

Exports of private label products are becoming a business breakthrough for many convenience stores in Korea, where e-commerce giants like Coupang Inc. are booming, an industry source said.

Convenience stores’ private brands take charge of the entire process from finding foreign buyers, order placement and transport to sales, without export intermediaries. As their private labels became more popular, their major client base has expanded from Korean markets overseas to local distributors, the source added.

Write to Sun A Lee at suna@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.