Dive Brief:
- 7-Eleven Inc. has launched a limited-time Flavors of Korea menu that introduces eight new food items to its stores, the company announced on Wednesday.
- The lineup includes an array of new foods and existing menu items with Korean-inspired flavors or twists, according to the announcement.
- The retailer also announced that a promotional Korean drama show, or “K-drama,” will air Nov. 2 on the company’s Instagram and TikTok accounts to go along with the new menu.
Dive Insight:
7-Eleven has rolled out a series of menu upgrades and additions this year as it focuses more on becoming a food destination.
The new items tap into a growing trend toward Asian flavors, culture and foods and employ regional favorites like gochujang, which is a fermented chili paste, and doenjang, a fermented soybean paste.
Flavors of Korea items include Bibigo spicy chicken dumplings, which are filled with chicken, green onion, glass noodles, cabbage and soy sauce; Bibigo Korean BBQ-style pizza, topped with beef, caramelized onions, carrots, roasted garlic, green onions, cheese and Bibigo Korean BBQ sauce; and gochujang boneless wings, seasoned with a gochujang glaze and garlic, doenjang, ginger and chili paste.
The company’s roller grills are getting a Korean-style-BBQ-sauced taquito, which includes white meat chicken, onions, soy sauce, K BBQ-style seasoning and sauce in a battered tortilla; and Korean-style BBQ-seasoned sausage, a pork sausage with flavorings like brown sugar, onion, garlic, soy sauce and ginger.
Finally, Raise the Roost locations are adding the Seoul Style Sweet Heat Chicken Sandwich, made with chicken tenders, bacon, pepper jack, coleslaw and Korean barbecue aioli on a brioche bun.
7-Eleven is well positioned to capitalize on this and other trends in Asian cuisine. The company has tapped into flavors from Japan and South Korea, countries where it has a large presence. It also has a presence in Vietnam, Cambodia, China and other Asian nations, according to its website.
The K-drama 7-Eleven is using to help promote the new menu will add new 60-second episodes every Monday and Thursday through Nov. 23. The microdrama follows two people “whose lives become intertwined” at their local 7-Eleven.
Microdramas are growing more popular, with the super-short videos giving brands a way to reach consumers on popular short-form video sites. The episodes were filmed in a real 7-Eleven and feature items from the menu at major turning points of the story, said director Danny Lee in the announcement.
The retailer is also adding limited-time discounts on menu items spotlighted in the episodes.
