A Yogurt-flavored Soju
Lotte Liquor, the alcoholic beverage arm of Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., announced on Sept. 17 that it has started to export its yogurt-flavored Soon Hari soju to the United States.
Soon Hari Yogurt is the fifth in the company’s fruit-flavored soju lineup released in the United States. The four existing products are each flavored with citron, peach, apple and strawberry. They are manufactured exclusively for exports.
Unlike the products exported to other countries, the Soon Hari Yogurt soju bound for the U.S. market has its name written in English on it. The company intends to directly deliver the characteristics of the product to American consumers.
Earlier this month, 190,000 bottles of 360 milliliter-sized Soon Hari Yogurt were exported to the United States. They will be sold via local supermarkets from mid-September in the western region and late September in the eastern region of the United States.
A Lotte Liquor official said that the company has adopted a localization strategy for the yogurt-flavored soju in terms of design, as it did for Soon Hari Peach, for which it manufactured a 750-milliliter bottle in consideration of the fact that American consumers are more accustomed to purchasing big-portion products. “We will strive to make Soon Hari the most representative soju brand in the United States.”
Since its first global launch in 2015, sales of Soon Hari have grown at a double-digit rate worldwide each year. Soon Hari is being sold in 30 countries including Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia and the United States. In particular, its sales in the U.S. market have seen an average annual growth of 40 percent as of last year.