While fall foliage may only now be at its peak, the sudden drop in temperature has brought winter comfort foods — namely steamed buns, fish-shaped pastries and roasted sweet potatoes — to store shelves as early as September, almost a month ahead of schedule.
Shops have also already stocked cold-weather essentials such as hand warmers, lightweight padded jackets and thermal wear.
Winter comfort foods have gained traction this month. Sales of roasted sweet potatoes rose 70.3 percent from Oct. 1 to Monday compared to the same period in September, according to BGF Retail, the operator of the convenience store chain CU.
Sales of microwavable bread products also jumped 167 percent over the cited period compared to September, and those of Americanos from in-store coffee machines rose 65.9 percent. Sales of winter essentials have seen a similar surge, with hand warmers up 447.9 percent and stockings up 84.1 percent.
As a result, food manufacturers are preparing to introduce their winter offerings early. Samlip plans to introduce 20 new varieties of its signature steamed buns — known as hopang in Korean — in mid-October. Many of the upcoming flavors are unconventional, such as kimchi taco hopang, a Korean-Mexican fusion; basil cheese hopang, made with basil pesto; meat and chive hopang, stuffed with pork and chives; and chili dog hopang, which offers a sweet and spicy taste.
The popular red bean hopang is also getting new twists, including a version flavored with Okinawan brown sugar and another made with tangzhong dough, a gelatinized flour mixture infused with a sweet rice drink, and filled with whole red beans.
A person holds roasted sweet potatoes at Emart 24 store.EMART 24
Coffee chains are also rushing to roll out their winter menus. Ediya Coffee recently introduced six new Korean street food-inspired snacks, including Seed Hotteok, Japchae Hotteok, Custard Bungeo-ppang and Ham Cheese Egg Bread.
Hotteok is a Korean pancake typically filled with brown sugar, nuts or seeds; japchae is a savory dish of stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables; and bungeoppang is a fish-shaped pastry traditionally filled with cream or red bean paste.
Retailers have moved up their winter sales schedules largely in response to wider-than-usual daily temperature swings. The gap between daytime highs and nighttime lows has exceeded 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) this month, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
“Consumers are shopping for winter products earlier as the distinction between autumn and winter fades,” said Kim Dong-ha, a merchandiser on BGF Retail’s home meal replacement team. “We will respond by offering a wider range of products to meet their needs.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
