Cheese Seaweed Soup, a Hot Item These Days, Spotted by AI... GS25 Expands Products Based on Popular Social Media Recipes

[Financial News] GS25 used artificial intelligence (AI) to detect food trends spreading on social media (SNS) and turned “cheese seaweed soup” and “curry glass noodles” into products. The company said it also cut product development time to about half the previous level by analyzing “weak signals” that emerge before a trend takes off.
According to industry sources on the 17th, GS25 will launch cheese seaweed soup and curry glass noodles on the 18th. The cheese seaweed soup product is based on a popular social media recipe that adds cheddar cheese and pepper to seaweed soup. The curry glass noodles product recreates a recipe that combines curry with glass noodles and cheddar cheese instead of rice.
GS25 used its proprietary AI trend analysis system to develop the products. The system analyzes consumer responses and keyword mentions using data from major domestic search portals, social media, and online communities. It detects weak signals of emerging trends, which merchandisers (MDs) then turn into product ideas.
The company said less than a month and a half passed between the merchandisers’ discovery of the relevant trends and the launch of the two products. Compared with the roughly three months typically required for product development, this represents a reduction of about half.
GS25 is using AI-based trend analysis in product planning to respond to food trends on social media that emerge and disappear in short cycles. Rather than beginning product development only after a trend has fully formed, the company aims to spot early signals and accelerate product launches.
Lee Do-hyun, a manager on GS25’s chilled and frozen foods team, said, “As recipes created directly by consumers gain popularity through social media, the ability to quickly turn them into products is becoming increasingly important.” He added, “Going forward, we plan to proactively spot changing consumer trends, combine them with our merchandisers’ product planning capabilities, and continue introducing a variety of differentiated products that reflect the latest trends.”
[email protected] Kim Hyun-ji Reporter