"Tteokjisunrye" and Chewy Dessert Craze... Packaged Rice Cake Purchases Rise 31%

Embrain Purchase Deep Data: Analysis of Estimated Rice Cake Product Purchases
Purchases totaled 151.9 billion won in the past year from September, up 31.2% year over year
Traditional snack paired with chocolate, pizza, fruit and more
Retailers pi

The traditional snack tteok, once favored by middle-aged and older consumers, is gaining popularity among younger people as an unusual dessert. This is attributed to growing awareness that tteok has a chewy, soft texture and is also good for your health. Retailers are also focusing on attracting demand by introducing creative tteok menu items paired with chocolate, fruit, pizza and other ingredients.

Visitors browse products from famous tteok shops across the country at the "Nationwide Tteok Pilgrimage Season 2" pop-up store at Lotte Department Store's Jamsil branch. Photo courtesy of Lotte Department Store.

According to Embrain Purchase Deep Data, which analyzed purchase receipt records from a panel of 20,000 people, estimated purchases of tteok products sold through major retail channels, including hypermarkets, convenience stores and online outlets, totaled about 151.9 billion won in the 12 months from September last year to August this year. That was up 31.2% from about 115.8 billion won in the same period a year earlier. Estimated purchases had fallen 1.8% in the year following the 118 billion won recorded from September 2023, but tteok has now become a trend, posting growth of more than 30% in just one year.

An analysis of 1,000 receipts with readable barcodes found that among tteok products, purchases of mochi posted the highest growth over the past year, rising 103% from the same period a year earlier. They were followed by Omegi-tteok, up 88.1%; chapssal-tteok, up 66.7%; tteok skewers and tteokbokki rice cakes, up 61.7%; and cream-filled tteok, up 61.3%. Notably, three of the five fastest-growing items were dessert-style tteok: mochi, chapssal-tteok and cream-filled tteok.

Embrain said, "The popularity of products filled with cream, fruit, chocolate and other ingredients appears to have contributed to the growth. Tteok, once familiar as a traditional snack, is being reinvented in a variety of forms as it meets food and beverage (F&B) trends, expanding its place as an everyday dessert."

This trend suggests that younger consumers, who are sensitive to trends, are willing to spend on tteok as a dessert. In fact, an analysis of estimated tteok purchases by age group over the past year, from September last year, found that spending by people in their 20s and younger rose 45.5% from the same period a year earlier, the highest growth rate of any age group. Industry sources say the preference for chewy desserts such as Dubai chewy cookies and butter tteok has carried over to tteok menu items. They also point to the trend of "tteok pilgrimage" (tteokjisunrye), in which people, particularly younger consumers, seek out and try tteok desserts that have gone viral on social media (SNS). Estimated tteok purchases by people in their 50s rose 40% from the same period last year, the second-highest growth rate after those in their 20s and younger.

Tteok sales are also growing notably across online and offline retail channels. Over the past year, the number of tteok purchases at warehouse discount stores rose 149.6% from the same period a year earlier, followed by online marketplaces at 60.9% and convenience stores at 57.9%. Convenience stores, where shoppers are quick to embrace food trends, have competed to launch creative tteok products aimed at this demand. GS25 introduced Sulbing Pizza Seolgi, a steamed white rice cake topped with pizza ingredients, and "Hanjeongseon Ice Cream," a type of tteok dessert. CU promoted Mochi Pave Chocolate in matcha flavor, a tteok dessert made with matcha and chocolate, and Fresh Chocolate Mochi, filled with chocolate. 7-Eleven will launch Pumpkin Injeolmi Tteok and Black Sesame Tteok on October 29. Department store chains, including Lotte Department Store, Shinsegae Department Store and Hyundai Department Store, have also competed to run pop-up stores showcasing renowned tteok specialists from across the country.

An industry source said, "The popularity appears to stem from sparking the curiosity of young consumers, who are interested in both taste and visual appeal, by combining unusual ingredients with tteok, a familiar food."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.