According to the industry on the 26th, Lotte Hotel is planning to release kimchi stew HMR as early as August. It will use hotel kimchi to develop a recipe devised by hotel experts.

Lotte Hotel plans to release kimchi, a small packaging package for one or two-person households, as well as kimchi stew meal kits within this year. Lotte Hotel sells cabbage, Gatpa, Chonggak kimchi, mixed gourd, and Dongchimi, while cabbage kimchi is sold at 4kg and 9kg and Chonggak kimchi is sold at 3kg. The strategy is to absorb the demand of young people by sub-packaging existing kimchi optimized for multi-person households.

Lotte Hotel is also strengthening its kimchi-related business organization. Earlier this year, the company deployed its personnel who have led the planning and development of kimchi products through reorganization as the head of the commerce business team under its marketing headquarters.

In the domestic hotel industry, three luxury hotels, Lotte and Chosun Hotel & Resort, are competing fiercely for the kimchi business, starting with Walkerhill. Chosun Hotel, which has annual kimchi business sales of more than 50 billion won, is at the forefront. Chosun Hotel sells small packages in units of 100 to 500g through online malls and Shinsegae Department Store.

Lotte Hotel, which started selling kimchi in August 2023, is a latecomer, but it has quickly pursued it in connection with its own "Lotte Hotel Rewards." It is a method of providing discounts exclusively for members at its online mall "e-Shop." The cumulative number of Lotte Hotel Rewards members increased 25% year-on-year last year, and increased 55% from January to April this year. It is explained that members who were introduced to the purchase of kimchi joined the membership and created a structure in which they purchased kimchi again.

Hotel products have emerged as a reasonable alternative amid steady consumption of kimchi despite the decline of the kimchi-making culture. An official from the hotel industry said, "After housewives in their 50s and 60s who are accustomed to kimchi culture retire, the trend of buying and eating kimchi will be solidified," adding, "Kimchi is a kind of must-have for Koreans, so the related market is expected to grow in the future." Amid soaring food prices, hotel kimchi has become a good option in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Reporter Park Hongjoo