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Jinro soju sponsors All Points East
By Georgie CollinsSoju brand Jinro will sponsor London’s All Points East festival, marking the first time Korean spirit has supported a major UK festival.
The sponsorship is part of the brand’s ongoing investment in the UK market that aims to increase distribution and awareness of Korea’s ‘most recognisable soju brand’.
Jinro is the world’s biggest-selling spirit brand, having recorded sales of 94.5 million cases in 2021.
Taking place from 19 to 28 August, Luno presents All Points East will play host to Jinro’s two-floor bar, which will be themed on a giant case of Jinro.
Festival-goers will be invited to step into an oversized world that features a neon bar, a ‘polaroid zone’, purpose-built spaces to ‘freshen up’, and prize-led activities based on traditional Korean games.
Jung-Ho Hwang, managing director at Hite Jinro, commented: “We are very proud to be the first Korean spirit brand to sponsor a major UK festival.
“The sponsorship is part of our strategy to introduce our soju brand to the local UK market, and with Jinro’s ethos of positivity and our lower-ABV flavoured Chamisul range, a festival is the ideal market entry for the summer season.
“The UK consumer’s appetite for Chamisul has increased at 51% compound annual growth rate since 2018. It has accelerated over the past two years with the range taking a category market share of 63% in 2021.”
“We have pulled the market towards the local consumer and as such seen a 26% increase in purchase by local consumers compared with Korean residents. Our goal is to push that margin further and create a legitimate space for soju on its own merit in the Western market.”
The All Points East partnership precedes a new distribution network that will aim to take soju beyond traditional on-trade outlets that serve a predominantly Korean and Asian client base and into outlets serving a typical British audience.
The brand’s goal is to see Jinro stocked in major retailers outside specialist stores in the UK.
“The key to Chamisul’s impressive increase in sales in the UK was down to alignment to the local consumer,” explained Krista Booker, communications director of Fourteen Ten Agency.
“While soju is very well known within an existing demographic, our strategy is to take the flavoured soju to a new audience and showcase its relevance to the local Millennial and Gen Z consumer, while maintaining relatable elements of the brand make up.”