Hite Jinro announced on Dec. 4 that it had opened a pop-up store called “Jinro Theme Store” in Hong Kong last October to celebrate the global integration of its soju brand JINRO. A video showcasing the venue was released on YouTube on Dec. 1.
The pop-up store, located near the SOGO Department Store in one of Hong Kong's busiest districts, was designed to expand the brand recognition of Jinro and to increase engagement with the MZ generation in Hong Kong. Since its opening in October, the store has welcomed approximately 20,000 visitors in the past two months. It has also gained popularity both online and offline, with numerous reviews and discussions appearing on Hong Kong’s popular social networking service XiaoHongShu.
The Jinro Theme Store is set to operate until the first half of 2025, with the aim of introducing Korean “soju culture” to Hong Kong consumers and strengthening Jinro’s presence. The store offers a total of 18 varieties of Hite Jinro beverages, including soju, fruit liqueurs, and non-alcoholic beer Hite Zero. Additionally, the store has prepared eight kinds of soju cocktails, including lemon tea and mojitos, developed by bartenders to showcase various ways to enjoy soju.
Florence Fong, 33, a visitor to the pop-up store, expressed her satisfaction, saying, "The lemon tea cocktail made with soju was the most impressive. I had a great time looking at the toad character artworks and plan to visit again on my way home from work."
To promote the pop-up store, Hite Jinro released a video of the Hong Kong pop-up store on its official global YouTube channel, The Real JINRO, on Dec. 1. The video, which is the 12th episode of the popular series Jumper Travel on the channel, features the pop-up store, including the cocktail-making process, along with various Hong Kong landmarks.