Chew, a former member of the girl group Loona, successfully became a solo artist after releasing her mini album Howl late last year. Her album was a hit at home and abroad, making it one of Billboard’s Best K-Pop in 2023. Is it because of Chew’s rapid popularity? Soon, alcohol named after her will appear in the mainstream market.
According to Hankyung Business, BGF Retail, which operates a convenience store CU, will unveil a highball in late January in cooperation with Chu. The name of the highball, which is sold only at CU convenience stores, has been confirmed as “Hi Chu.” The company has completed all preparations, including design and advertising, and is waiting for the day when it sells its products.
There is a craze for “celebrity alcohol” in the liquor industry. A growing number of famous celebrities are directly involved in the taste of alcohol and product design, or are launching products with their names on the market.
Chew is not the first time CU has launched a liquor product with a celebrity. It has actively released “Celebrity’s Soju” since 2022, drawing attention.
The liquor industry welcomes this trend. As the so-called “celebrity liquor” is a hot topic every time it is released, it is playing a role in invigorating the overall stagnant liquor market. In fact, the traditional liquor market, which had been stagnant for a long time due to the huge hit of “Soyeonju” launched by singer Park Jae-beom, also gained vitality last year.
After tasting the original liquor, consumers wondered what other traditional liquor would taste like, and the market itself grew. For reference, the original liquor is a traditional liquor made of 100 percent Wonju rice.
However, as alcohol itself is harmful to health, there are inevitably negative views on it. Some also raise concerns that the launch of liquor products, which put celebrities’ popularity ahead of others, lowers awareness of alcohol and promotes drinking culture.
CU’s “Celebrity Soju” drew much attention with its witty product name every time it was launched, generating consumers’ curiosity about its taste. CU aimed for this, too.
A CU official said, “In the case of mainstream advertising, it usually costs a lot of money because you have to model stars, but you can save a lot of money on advertising and marketing by making mainstream with stars yourself.”
However, according to sources in the liquor industry, celebrities’ alcohol businesses are highly popular in the beginning, but most of them often end up in failure. One example that can be evaluated as a success with the launch of liquor so far is Park Jae-beom, who launched Won-ju.
Criticism is also raised against the fact that celebrities come forward and serve alcohol themselves. Kwak Geum-joo, a psychology professor at Seoul National University, said, “A person of all ages has a ‘mimic psychology’ that tries to imitate an object that they like or admire,” adding, “Celebrities who can greatly influence the public should refrain from making and advertising alcohol themselves, as it can lead to alleviating the awareness of alcohol.”
In addition, he pointed out, “Not only the launch of alcohol, but also the recent “drink room” of celebrities is popular, and this part is also a problem because it can encourage drinking among viewers.”
In fact, with the recent launch of liquor products, the trend that is spreading like a trend among celebrities is the opening of liquor stores. Comedians Shin Dong-yeop, singers Sung Si-kyung and Lee Young-ji are so popular that they easily get hundreds of thousands of views whenever a new video is uploaded.
Many viewers who watch the stars drink naturally also have a greater desire to drink. Professor Kwak explains that you can be tempted to drink alcohol that you don’t have to drink.
JENNIFER KIM
ASIA JOURNAL
