Korea SMEs Agency Highlights Budget-Friendly Diet Foods at April Shopping Festival

As high prices and a weaker exchange rate push up the cost of eating healthy, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency is promoting lower-priced diet-friendly foods at the April “Companion Festival.”

The agency said Saturday the event is intended to go beyond simple discounts, offering consumers a chance to manage spending while supporting small businesses.

Bijiterian is offering “Dubunola,” a granola-style product that replaces oatmeal with biji, a soybean byproduct made from domestically grown beans, to emphasize protein and dietary fiber over carbohydrates. It blends coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup and honey, and uses unrefined sugar to balance nutrition and taste. One bag contains protein equivalent to three eggs and dietary fiber equivalent to six apples.

Sorang introduced “low-sugar mini pound cakes” aimed at dessert lovers who want to avoid flour. The product is made without flour or sugar, using almonds and grain flour instead. It comes in eight flavors: fig, mugwort, chocolate, sesame-peanut, carrot, sorghum-chickpea, pea-black sesame and lemon-Earl Grey.

Because gochujang is typically made with rice syrup and corn syrup and peppers contain natural sugars, it is often seen as a poor fit for dieting. Localow’s “Hot Tab all-purpose low-sugar gochujang” was developed to address that, replacing syrups with allulose and garlic flavor and cutting sugars by 8% compared with conventional gochujang. The company said all ingredients are domestic, including a fiber-rich fermented wheat ingredient from the Honam region and Jeju garlic harvested in a clean environment.
 
“Serve Lab” is selling “Diet Fairy unsweetened Greek yogurt,” made after removing 100% of whey. The company said it uses top-grade domestic milk and Danish probiotics for a clean, thick texture without sharp acidity. It is unsweetened and contains no sweeteners or stabilizers, and is produced at a HACCP-certified facility under a same-day production and shipping policy. A version with 50% of whey removed is also available.

Hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and organized by the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, the April Companion Festival runs through May 10 with about 33,000 small and midsize companies and small merchants participating alongside more than 200 domestic online and offline retail channels.

Promotions vary by channel. More than 90 online shopping platforms, including Kakao, Musinsa and Coupang, are selling popular items across food, household goods and fashion at discounts of up to 70%. Offline, consumers can try products at special sales events in department stores and big-box retailers and buy them at discounts of up to 90%.

An agency official said the event is also providing practical benefits to encourage public participation in spending, adding that plans include raising discount limits for digital Onnuri gift certificates.

 



* This article has been translated by AI.

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