A shopper picks up a soju product at a supermarket in Hanoi, Vietnam, Aug. 13. Joint Press Corp. HiteJinro, Lotte Chilsung bolster overseas marketing By Ko Dong-hwan Overseas sales of soju, a popular Korean distilled alcoholic beverage, are on the rise, fueling anticipation that it could become the next K-food sensation, even as its popularity wanes domestically, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The global popularity of Korean online streaming series and movies is seen as a key factor in drawing liquor consumers' attention to soju, the clear distilled liquor frequently featured in these media. In Korea, rising market prices and shifting trends away from soju are believed to be contributing to its declining consumption. Soju exports in the first half of this year were valued at 66.7 billion won ($48.3 million), up 4.7 percent from the past year. The ascension started and continued from 2022 when annual exports jumped to $93.3 million from $82.4 million the previous year. The exports previous to 2022 had been low for years. Last year, the annual figure exceeded $114 million, marking the first time since 2013 that soju exports surpassed the $100 million mark. The growing exports derive from robust corporate performances. HiteJinro, with its signature soju brand Jinro and its various flavors including the Chamisul lineup, registered sales of 665 billion won and an operating profit of 68.2 billion won for the second quarter of this year, up by 3.7 percent and 473.1 percent, respectively. HiteJinro’s performance has benefited from Jinro soju’s widening presence in the global market, according to market experts. With less reliance on the domestic market, the brand has reduced marketing costs, which led to the steep rise in earnings. The company’s oversea soju sales grew to 189 billion won last year, more than tripling from 57.1 billion won in 2017. The performance of Lotte Chilsung, with its signature soju brand Chum Churum, also received a boost from its oversea sales in the first half of this year. Green soju bottles fill the table in a scene from "Work Later, Drink Now" on Tving. Screenshot from YouTube The company this year registered 1.99 trillion won in sales and an operating profit of 60.2 billion won, up 38.1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. Its subsidiary in the Philippines, Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines (PCPPI), countered the slowing domestic sales, according to the company. PCPPI’s second-quarter sales and operating profit jumped 10.6 percent and 62.2 percent from the previous year, respectively. The subsidiary’s earnings from liquor products alone jumped by 35.8 percent during the same period. Soju’s falling popularity in Korea, on the other hand, is due to soaring market prices and rising popularity of whisky and highballs. According to the KCS, outbound shipments of soju have slid consistently down in volume, to 844,000 kiloliters in 2023 from 916,000 kiloliters in 2019. The companies have begun investing overseas for their soju brands. HiteJinro is currently building its first overseas manufacturing plant in Vietnam. Lotte Chilsung in December signed a partnership with California-based E&J Gallo Winery to bolster its sales through the U.S. firm’s distribution network. Following the deal, Lotte stocked its liquors in some 10,000 stores under E&J. Thanks to the deal, Lotte’s U.S. exports during the first half of this year jumped by more than 40 percent from the same period last year. “The liquor market here, since the COVID-19 pandemic, has in fact been remaining sluggish,” a market expert said. “With domestic sales expected to slump further, liquor makers’ overseas market expansion has become critical for their survival. The company that first takes the biggest share of the global market for K-soju will hit the jackpot.”
