"Assistant Manager Kim, Stop Mixing Somaek"... Why Even Bomb Shots Are Now in Cans

Retro Products and Somaek: Liquor Industry Struggles Amid Deteriorating Results

HiteJinro to Launch Canned Somaek This Month
Apparently Mindful of Competitors' Success
Lotte Chilsung Beverage Draws Attention With Relaunch of Nostalgic Liquor

The liquor industry is pulling out all the stops to reverse the slump in alcohol consumption. Its strategy can be summed up as favoring stability over adventure. Companies are seeking to boost consumer interest by tapping into familiarity, either by bringing back discontinued products that evoke nostalgia or by turning proven products with strong market demand into new offerings.

An office worker is mixing soju and beer at a company dinner to make what is known as "somaek." AI-generated image.

According to industry sources on Nov. 5, HiteJinro plans to launch a canned product this month based on somaek (a mix of soju and beer), widely regarded as the quintessential bomb shot in the liquor market. The company is discussing detailed launch schedules with major sales channels, including convenience stores and large supermarkets. The new product will be a so-called "Tesla," combining HiteJinro's soju brand Chamisul and its beer brand Terra. An industry official said, "Details such as the exact volume and price are expected to be finalized soon."

Chamisul-Terra. Courtesy of HiteJinro

HiteJinro's move to launch a canned somaek product that requires no separate mixing is seen as a response to the success of a competitor that captured the market with a similar product. In June, Seonyang Soju, a liquor company based in the Chungcheong region, collaborated with craft beer maker SevenBrau to launch Seonyang Oak Somaek. The product blends 450 mL of lager with 40 mL of Seonyang Oak soju and 10 mL of oak barrel-aged rice-distilled soju. One million cans were sold within 40 days of its launch through four convenience store chains. An industry official said, "Sales have consistently topped 200,000 cans a month." In July, beer platform Daily Beer teamed up with distilled soju brand KHEE to launch KHEE Somaek exclusively at CU, a convenience store chain operated by BGF Retail.

Captain Q treasure chest package. Courtesy of Lotte Chilsung Beverage.

While HiteJinro has turned its attention to the canned somaek market, Lotte Chilsung Beverage has made headlines by bringing back Captain Q, a nostalgic liquor brand, 11 years after it was discontinued in 2015. First introduced in 1980, Captain Q was known as a "low-cost hard liquor" favored by sailors and became the subject of various hangover-related anecdotes. It continued to be talked about even after being discontinued. The manufacturer used retro appeal as a marketing tool to reach not only middle-aged and older consumers who remember the stories about the product but also younger people who encountered them through video content. In mid-October, the company offered a limited run of 12,000 gift sets, each containing two bottles, a dedicated stainless-steel glass and a commemorative coin. The planned "Captain Q Treasure Chest" package sold out within a day of being shipped from the factory . The company then prepared 30,000 units of a follow-up package, "Captain Q's Broken Time Machine," inspired by the joke, "If you drink Captain Q and get drunk, you won't have a hangover the next day. That's because you won't wake up until the day after." Featuring a sleep theme, the package contains two bottles, a sleep mask and a doorknob card reading "Sleeping soundly." 

Meanwhile, OB Beer, which leads the domestic at-home beer market with its Cass brand, entered the soju market in September with Chalrang, produced at Jeju Soju, which it acquired in 2024 and now operates as its Jeju brewery. To carve out a niche in a market dominated by HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung Beverage, the company plans to initially sell the product only through on-premise channels such as restaurants and bars in select areas, including the Seoul metropolitan area and Jeju. After assessing whether the product takes hold in the market, the company is expected to seek broader expansion in connection with Cass.

These moves by the liquor industry are strategies to offset deteriorating performance. HiteJinro's standalone soju revenue in the first half of this year was KRW 664.5 billion, down 2.5% from the same period two years ago, while its beer revenue was KRW 290 billion, down 17.4%. Over the same period, Lotte Chilsung Beverage's soju and beer revenues fell 49% and 75.9%, respectively, to KRW 218.7 billion and KRW 20.8 billion. The declines reflect struggles in both domestic and overseas markets as the trend of abstaining from alcohol has spread. OB Beer's revenue rose about 2% year over year to KRW 1.7756 trillion last year, but its operating profit fell 5.4% to KRW 347.6 billion, indicating weaker profitability.

Although companies in the industry are seeking to turn things around with new strategies, it remains uncertain whether they can reverse the downturn. According to the National Tax Statistics Portal (TASIS) of the National Tax Service, domestic liquor shipments totaled 2.988 million kL last year, falling below 3 million kL annually for the first time in 27 years, since 1998, when shipments were 2.922 million kL. An industry official said, "As the trend toward drinking less becomes widespread around the world, it is difficult to find a clear catalyst for a rebound in the liquor market. We expect more manufacturers to turn to products with proven demand or those gaining word-of-mouth among consumers."

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