7-Eleven to Launch Seasonal Bibimbap with Sung Si-kyung, Nurture Ready-to-Eat Meals as a Core Product

[Financial News] 7-Eleven is teaming up with singer Sung Si-kyung to launch bibimbap made with seasonal ingredients. The convenience store chain plans to make one-pot lunch boxes a key product category in its ready-to-eat meal lineup, in line with rising demand for bibimbap.
According to 7-Eleven on the 27th, it will unveil the "Si-kyung Pick Seasonal Bibimbap" series on the 2nd of next month. The limited-edition products will use ingredients that change with the seasons, and Sung also took part in the product tasting process.
Bibimbap sales at 7-Eleven have risen 25% this year from a year earlier. Sales of bibimbap to foreign tourists also increased 15% this year, following a 40% rise last year. Its flagship item, "Jeonju-style Beef Bibimbap," ranks fourth in sales among all lunch boxes and first among one-pot meals such as bibimbap, rice bowls and fried rice.
Growth in one-pot lunch boxes has also been notable. While 7-Eleven's overall lunch box sales rose 19% this year, one-pot lunch boxes increased 27%. Among bibimbap buyers, women accounted for 40.1%, 6 percentage points higher than the share for regular lunch boxes.
The first series consists of three autumn-inspired items. The "Secret Soy Sauce Autumn Radish Bibimbap" uses radish from Pyeongchang County, Gangwon State, and Cheongyang chili pepper soy sauce. The "Secret Soy Bean Paste Bulgogi Bibimbap" combines Gangwon State-grown gondre, crispy bulgogi and bellflower root with barley rice and a clam broth doenjang sauce. The "Jeonju-style Beef Bibimbap" includes sun-dried red pepper paste, beef and eight kinds of stir-fried vegetables.
The rice uses anti-aging and moisture-retention technology for chilled rice, developed through 7-Eleven's "Rice Project" in April. Microwave cooking time has been cut from 1 minute and 40 seconds to 30 seconds. The company also separately developed the sauces and pastes used for each bibimbap, including sun-dried red pepper paste, clam broth doenjang sauce and Cheongyang chili pepper soy sauce.
Lee Mi-seon, food team leader at 7-Eleven, said, "Considering the growing demand for healthy meals and convenient single servings, as well as the rising number of foreign tourists, we have selected bibimbap as a key growth model." She added, "As 7-Eleven's proprietary food-tech technology meets the palate of Sung Si-kyung, one of the entertainment industry's best-known food lovers, we will lead the convenience store lunch box market decisively across all age groups at home and abroad."

[email protected] Lee Jeong-hwa Reporter