[Cooking&Food] Strawberry Battle: Hotels, Cafes, Convenience Stores Compete This Winter
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
Strawberries have become the star of Korea’s winter dessert scene, with hotels, cafes and convenience stores tailoring offerings by channel. Luxury hotels focus on experiential formats—like strawberry gourmet boutiques, rooftop strawberry bingsu with Jeju matcha, and strawberry-integrated afternoon teas—turning the fruit into an extended dining experience. Cafes emphasize gifts and everyday treats, selling mini whole cakes, roll cakes and character-collab items suited for sharing. Convenience stores make strawberries part of consumers’ winter routines through repeatable, affordable items such as GS25’s strawberry sandwiches, cream-filled breads and mochi pancakes that highlight the local ‘Seolhyang’ (a popular Korean strawberry cultivar). Brands also use photo-friendly presentations, SNS campaigns and promotions to extend the season and encourage repeat visits. Overall, the “strawberry war” is less about size or price and more about how strawberries are enjoyed—experience at hotels, gift and daily pleasure at cafes, and routine consumption at convenience stores.
