Food brands tap fandoms to boost sales

South Korean food and restaurant companies are moving beyond celebrity endorsements to offer photo cards and other merchandise with purchases, tapping into fan-driven consumption to attract new customers and boost sales.

Coffee franchise The Venti said Sunday that sales of its autumn menu featuring singer and actor Park Ji-hoon were about 400 percent higher during the first week than those of its previous new products.

The menu was launched Sept. 2. Customers who ordered qualifying sets received a randomly selected photo card featuring Park, a promotion the company said contributed to the strong sales.

Sales of five menu items included in Mega MGC Coffee’s EXO photo-card promotion rose about 10 percent from the week immediately preceding the event.

The company said its intellectual-property collaborations during the first half generated about 3 million customer engagements involving store visits and purchases.

Papa Johns Korea said new customers accounted for about 75 percent of participants in its promotions featuring girl group IVE through June.

Convenience stores are also turning fandom collaborations into a

GS25 said ice cream, bread and other products developed with K-pop idols sold 1.5 million units through the first half. Breads and other products created with virtual idol group PLAVE sold 1.3 million units.

CU has also introduced canned highballs tied to singer G-Dragon.

“Fans are even collecting product containers, effectively turning the products themselves into merchandise,” an industry official said.