Convenience stores jump on Korea’s rice cake dessert boom

From butter to toppings, Korean rice cakes — called “tteok” — are enjoying a heyday of flavor innovation. As various rice cake desserts lead this year’s food trends, even spawning the term “tteok-run” to refer to lining up before a store opens to secure the trendy treats, convenience store chains are jumping on the bandwagon.

According to purchasing data from market research firm Embrain, estimated spending on rice cakes reached 151.9 billion won ($112 million) from September last year to August this year, up 31.2 percent from the previous year. Spending increased by more than 20 percent across all age groups, with purchases by people in their 20s and younger surging 45.5 percent. The rise reflects a growing number of young consumers willing to wait in long lines to try rice cake desserts that have gone viral on social media.

Following the Shanghai-style butter rice cake and Gwangju’s Changeok rice cakes, which gained popularity this spring, a variety of rice cake desserts have recently taken off almost simultaneously. These include Hanjeongseon’s fruit-filled glutinous rice cake; pizza seolgi, a traditional steamed white rice cake topped with pizza ingredients; and Godiva mochi, sold exclusively at the chocolate brand’s Lotte World Mall store in Jamsil, Seoul, for 7,500 won to 9,000 won each.

Convenience store chains are responding with a succession of products that allow consumers to enjoy the trend at more affordable prices.

GS25 recently launched two convenience store versions of the fruity rice cakes in yogurt and pistachio flavor, priced at 3,900 won each, in collaboration with dessert maker Loromello and Hanjeongseon. Unlike the original Hanjeongseon, the products do not contain whole fruit but instead feature a chewy glutinous rice cake filled with generous amounts of cream to bring out the flavor of each ingredient.

“Cumulative sales of the two varieties exceeded 1.3 million units as of Oct. 25, and they are currently the top-selling products across GS25’s entire quick-commerce lineup in terms of revenue,” a GS25 representative said.

Starting Nov. 5, the chain will also sell Seolbing Pizza Seolgi nationwide, featuring white steamed rice cakes topped with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni.

CU, another convenience store chain known for its dessert offerings, introduced regular and matcha flavored fresh chocolate mochi last month, followed by matcha-flavored mochi pavé chocolate on Thursday.

CU’s rice cake sales rose 96.5 percent year-on-year from January to September, nearly doubling from the same period last year. Its fresh chocolate mochi surpassed 400,000 units in cumulative sales within a month of launch. The new mochi combines chewy mochi with dense, fudgy pavé chocolate to offer a textural contrast.

7-Eleven is also expanding its rice cake lineup after overall rice cake sales rose 62 percent from January to September this year, while sales to international visitors climbed 80 percent. The chain plans to launch two varieties — a pumpkin rice cake coated in soybean powder and a black sesame rice cake — priced at 3,500 won each, targeting both Korean and international consumers.

Meanwhile, Japanese dessert brand Tirol Choco’s mochi-filled chocolates, which contain chewy mochi and syrup inside a chocolate shell, have returned to stores after gaining popularity last year. Since being relaunched last month, cumulative sales have already surpassed 200,000 units.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.