Yangju Surpasses Wine to Become Second in Lotte Mart Alcohol Sales

A customer examines the Japanese liqueur 'Sonomanma Mango/Melon' at Lotte Mart's Bottle Bunker in Jamsil, Songpa-gu, Seoul. [Photo: Lotte Mart]

Lotte Mart reported that Yangju has overtaken wine to become the second-best selling alcoholic beverage in its stores during the first half of the year.

As of July 5, Lotte Mart stated that Yangju sales increased by 2.3% compared to the same period last year. The growth was driven by a 13.6% rise in blended whiskey sales and a 12.6% increase in Japanese whiskey sales. Consequently, wine, which held the second position for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2022, has dropped to third place. Domestic beer remains the top seller, followed by soju in fourth, imported beer in fifth, and traditional liquor in sixth. Wine sales, on the other hand, saw a 1.1% decline during the same period.

Non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages are also experiencing rapid growth. The share of non-alcoholic beverage sales has expanded from 6% in 2021 to 13% in the first half of this year. The growth rate for non-alcoholic beverages was 23.7% in 2024, 11.4% in 2025, and reached 25.4% in the first half of this year. Non-alcoholic beer sales increased by 24.5%, while non-alcoholic wine sales surged by 41.2%.

Sales of imported beer and soju also grew. Imported beer sales rose by 11.2% compared to the previous year, while soju sales increased by 2.2%.

Lotte Mart and its supermarkets will hold a discount event on alcoholic beverages until July 15, featuring discounts on over 30 popular Yangju varieties, 30 non-alcoholic beverages, and 65 types of wine, with some makgeolli and sparkling drinks priced at 990 won.

Jung Hoeseong, head of the beverage and alcohol team at Lotte Mart and Super, noted, "The trend of value consumption centered around whiskey and the popularization of non-alcoholic beverages are evident, along with a tendency for practical consumption in imported beer and soju. We will introduce a variety of reasonably priced alcoholic products to match changing consumer preferences."

* This article has been translated by AI.