[Consumerwide - Jinil Kang Reporter / Yohan Bok Reporter] It seems the consumption value trend is hot in the Korean burger market. Customers began consuming products with the special aim of supporting our farms instead of choosing regular products. These products were out of stock in the early stages of sale, and some were requested for resale.

On the 10th, referring to industry, McDonald's has been releasing the Taste of Korea series menu every year as a part of their local sourcing project, aiming to support Korean farms while enhancing burger taste. In particular, Jindo Daepa Cream Crocket Burger, which was released in July 2022 and recorded 500 thousand units of sale during the first week and 1.5 million in the same month since release, began sale again in September. Earlier, McDonald's released two types of Changnyeong Burger series, which are "Changneong Garlic Beef Burger", "Changnyeong Garlic Chicken Burger, and "Changneong Garlic Burger", which contain plenty of fresh this year's garlic made in Changneong. This burger was sold out quickly since its release, and the accumulated monthly sales record was approximately 1.6 million units. And it returned in August this year due to re-release demand from customers. It's a third year of cooperating with Channyeonggun, and McDonald's has been purchasing approximately 132 tons of Changneong garlic from the area, which is a big economic support. An associated person from McDonald's said, "We will continue steps towards shared growth by local sourcing from Korean farms while enhancing burger taste."

Since Burger King stopped selling the Truffle Mashroom Waffer menu in June 2021, there has been constant demand for a re-release. At last, Burger King released an upgraded version of Truffle Mushroom Waffer on the 18th of September, and 900,000 units were sold in three weeks. In particular, 157% of the target number was recorded during the first week. It seems that Burger King consumers began choosing burgers based on consumption value, which is reflected in their purchase of the limited-time burger. An associated person from Burger King said, "Truffle Mushroom Waffer has achieved the best record amongst limited-time burgers that are released this year."

It is probably the value on which consumers stand that has a big influence on brand interest. According to a big data analysis by Data&Research announced on the 10th, the major burger brands that captured attention best in 2023 were: 1st, McDonald's; 2nd, Lotteria; and 3rd, Burger King.

A limited-time Yutnolie set that was released in advance of the Chuseok holiday. (Photo: Consumerwide DB)

Some of the limited-time product releases of McDonald's prior to the Chuseok holiday, which include the Yutnolie set and Jindo Daepa Cream Crocket Burger that were released as a part of the local sourcing project "Taste of Korea" series, have attracted consumers. McDonald's took the top spot in "domestic burger brand captured attention best in 2023" research by recording 449788 information quantities between January and September this year. Lotteria recorded 346483 incormation quantity (2nd). And Burger King was in the center of attention due to "Waffer chaos" in September. Burger King offered a discount event, including a Kakaotalk gift discount, which was a 40% discount for the Waffer set gifticon (9100 won to 5400 won).