Aloe appreciation: South Korea’s SUUL SUUP taps Jeju Island repute to make premium soju launch
Jeju Island is one of South Korea’s most iconic destinations due to its scenery and traditional charms, and is most well-known for its famous mountain-shaped hallabong tangerines.
But whilst SUUL SUUP does use Jeju tangerines as an ingredient, the brand has instead chosen to highlight another less-known Jeju specialty which is aloe vera.
“SUUL SUUP is the first soju in Korea and anywhere in the world to use aloe vera as a core ingredient,” SUUL SUUP parent company SO1NE Managing Director Chris So told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“We use aloe vera solely from Jeju Island, as this is a specialty here with a unique freshness to the taste and aroma, and infused it into our soju.
“To add to the flavour, we also used the distillate of Jeju’s other distinctive product which is the tangerines, and this gives the soju a natural one-of-a-kind sweetness that also means we do not need to use any sweeteners, fragrance or colourings to make it palatable.”
All processing and production for SUUL SUUP is done on Jeju Island as well, in order to minimise the time and distance between the aloe vera and tangerines with the processing facilities.
SUUL SUUP has thus far been launched solely in the domestic South Korean market, where So believes the reputation of Jeju Island is an important factor in ensuring its acceptance as a premium product.
“Jeju Island is well known already for being a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site and one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, and has both excellent water quality and abundant sunlight which also contribute to the quality of this soju,” he added.
“The island’s excellent reputation also very much helps SUUL SUUP, and ensuring that it is completely unique and special has also been very key to justifying its premium status.
“This is in addition to being the only aloe vera soju around, exclusively manufacturing in Jeju, and of course also the very premium packaging that it comes in, which increases its value in the gifting market as well.
“This is not normal soju as the distillation process is also different, not to mention all the premium ingredients used and the packaging contributing to this premium concept, so the pricing definitely needs to be higher.”
These combined elements of premiumisation, as well as its craft status, also mean that the soju comes at a premium pricing – one 375ml bottle of SUUL SUUP retails at KRW19,900 (US$14.90) compared to for example a standard 360ml bottle of Hite Jinro Soju which retails at around KRW2,000 (US$1.50) in a retail setting or KRW6,000 (US$4.50) in a foodservice setting.
Forest concept
SUUL SUUP also bases its premium concept on a forest vision, hoping to foster an even deeper connection between its soju and South Korean nature.
“Suul means liquor in Korea, and Suup means forests – so that is where the name actually originated from,” he said.
“Korea is a country of forests, which cover over 65% of our land, so we wanted to make sure that this was demonstrated clearly via both the product and packaging so that consumers feel they are really connecting with Korea in this way.”
