Mr. Kim (56), who lives in Samseong-dong, Seoul, spent valuable time watching the World Cup game at home with his family. As the Korean team’s game was held at 10 p.m., she was able to get off work early and talk about soccer. Mr. Kim said, “The match against Uruguay was a draw and the match against Ghana was unfortunately broken, but I was able to have many deep conversations with my children while sweating in my hands. I plan to enjoy it with my evangelism family,” he said.
BBQ
As the fever of the Qatar World Cup heated up, the soccer food formula of ‘chicken and beer’ worked again.
In particular, the chicken industry and convenience stores enjoyed the World Cup special on the day the Korean national team played against Uruguay (24th) and Ghana (28th). The increase in the number of ‘housekeepers’ who enjoy late-night World Cup matches at home also played a role.
According to the industry on the 29th, the largest chicken franchise in Korea, BBQ, saw a 220% increase in chicken sales compared to the end of October on the 28th, when the Ghana match was held, and a 190% increase from the previous Monday. Sales increased by 4% on the 28th compared to the 24th, when the game against Uruguay was held. Considering the fact that access to the delivery app was not smooth on the day of the game against Uruguay, it was effective to prepare preparations ahead of the game against Ghana. Prior to the match against Ghana, BBQ has secured sufficient raw and subsidiary materials by expanding its own app servers, arranging specialized personnel to manage servers in case of emergency, and adding operating personnel to each store to minimize customer inconvenience. A BBQ official said, “To support the Korean national team’s victory against Portugal this weekend, we plan to hold an event that gives a 3,000 won discount when purchasing a set menu from our app.”
Kyochon Chicken also saw its sales increase by 150% compared to the same period last week and 160% compared to the previous month on the 28th, when the Gana exhibition was held. Sales on the 24th, when the Uruguay match was held, increased by 110% compared to the previous week and 140% compared to the previous month.
The convenience store gained wings with the World Cup soccer game. GS25’s total sales on the 28th, when the Korean team played against Ghana, increased by 13.3% compared to Monday (14th), two weeks before the Qatar World Cup. In particular, beer sales increased by 183.3%, and chicken (120.4%), side dishes (111.2%), frozen simple meals (85.8%), and snacks (92.9%) were sold like hot cakes. In the case of 10 GS25 stores near Gwanghwamun Plaza where street cheering was held, sales increased by 53.1%. On the 28th, when the Korean War was held, the busiest time was between 5 and 10 p.m., right before the game started, accounting for 42.2% of total sales, up 7.9 percentage points (p) from the previous 14th. A GS25 official said, “We are planning to hold a buffalo rib 1+1 and fried chicken discount event on December 3, when the Portugal match will be held, in hopes of the Korean team advancing to the round of 16 at the World Cup.”
CU also saw sales of beer and soju jump up to 3.3 times during the same period. Beer sold the most at 229.0%, followed by soju (131.9%), liquor (69.4%), and makgeolli (45.7%). Snacks sales increased by 188.9% during the same period, and sales of refrigerated instant meals (163.2%) and processed meats (116.6%) also surged. In particular, sales increased from 6:00 p.m., the time to get off work, and an hour before the start of the game, sales increased by 95.5% compared to usual.
At Emart 24, sales of beer and light snacks increased 2.3 times and 2.4 times, respectively, during the same period. In the case of sales at the three stores near Gwanghwamun, sales of beer increased by 131%, and sales of wine (93%), container noodles (63%), and beverages (52%) also increased.
Meanwhile, the Korean national team was unfortunately defeated 2-3 against Ghana on the 28th. However, as the possibility of advancing to the round of 16 remains depending on the results of the match against Portugal, which starts at midnight on December 2, interest in the match against Portugal is hot. Therefore, it is expected that the consumption of chicken and beer by World Cup fans moving into the weekend will increase further.