NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's favorite drink, a mix of beer and soju known as 'so-maek,' is set to be released as a ready-made product. Following his visit, there is growing interest in whether this consumption trend will also impact the alcohol market.
According to the alcohol industry on November 4, Hite Jinro is preparing to launch a ready-made version of so-maek, which combines its beer 'Terra' and soju 'Chamisul.' This combination, informally referred to as 'Tesla' by consumers, has not yet had its specific release date or product details disclosed.
This drink gained attention during a meeting on October 30 last year between Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun.
During that meeting, the three toasted with a mix of Terra and Chamisul at Kkanbu Chicken in Gangnam, Seoul. Huang showed interest in the so-maek dispenser known as the 'Terra Tower,' and images of the trio taking so-maek shots were shared publicly.
The consumer response following the meeting was notable. Kkanbu Chicken's Samsung branch saw a surge in visitors, leading to a one-hour limit on table usage where Huang had sat. Some locations even experienced stock shortages.
Financial results also improved. Kkanbu's revenue last year reached 33.2986 billion won, a 14.0% increase from the previous year. Operating profit also rose by 9.1% to 5.3631 billion won. While it may not be accurate to attribute the entire increase to the October meeting, analysts suggest it benefited from heightened publicity.
A similar trend was observed at BBQ, where Huang visited in June. The BBQ Hongdae branch reported over a 20% increase in sales from Friday to Sunday immediately following his visit compared to the same period the previous week.
Hite Jinro has also leveraged this buzz in its marketing efforts. Last November, the company released a digital advertisement parodying the chicken and beer meeting with Jensen Huang and domestic business leaders, filmed at the Kkanbu Chicken Samsung branch where the actual meeting took place.
The launch of the ready-made so-maek comes at a time when growth in the domestic alcohol market is slowing.
Hite Jinro's consolidated revenue for the first half of this year was 1.2094 trillion won, a 4.0% decrease from the same period last year. Notably, beer sales dropped by 11.9% to 336.4 billion won. The company plans to expand its product lineup through the introduction of ready-made so-maek.
Competitors have already entered the ready-made so-maek market. Sunyang Soju launched 'Sunyang Oak So-maek' in June, while Life Beer introduced 'Kisomaek' in July.
Given that consumers typically adjust the ratio of beer to soju themselves, it remains uncertain how broad the demand for a ready-made version will be. While the connection to Jensen Huang may initially attract interest, actual sales performance will depend on the product's taste, price, and distribution competitiveness.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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