The latest in a series of mineral water products popular in Korea.

In September, Jinro released Aqua Blue, positioned as a premium grade in its Seoksu mineral water line. The new products come during a time when mineral water sales are booming in Korea as the sale of bottled tea drinks slip.
Aqua Blue is made from desalinated deep sea mineral water extracted from 1,032 meters below the surface or Kangwon Province’s Yang Yang Bay. The water boasts 50 varieties of minerals found in deep sea water, and a pH level of 7.3-8, which is claimed to add in it being easily absorbed into the body. The blue gradation on the bottle is designed to represent the ocean getting darker at lower deepths.

This new premium line comes at a time when mineral water is booming in Korea. Bottled tea drinks, which peaked in 2004 during a wellness trend, with some hit products enjoying 40% sales growth per year, have stalled, and this market is predicted to begin shrinking by 10% per year.

Meanwhile, the mineral water market has skyrocketed from 3.5 billion won ($2.5 million) in 2006, to a projected 4.5 billion won ($3.2 million) in 2008. Many of the popular brands such as Blue Marine, Momejouenmul, and Ulleung Minewater are, like Aqua Blue, produced from desalinated deep sea water. Blue Marine, a premium water line by Lotte Chilsung, is enjoying sales success despite a price of 1,400 won($1) per .5 liter bottle, about 40% more than the market average. Ulleung Minewater sells for 2,000 won for a smaller, 330 milliliter bottle, which was recently redesigned to give it a more premium look.

The move from bottle tea to mineral water might be linked to a recent consumer backlash against genetically modified ingredients, which appear in some tea drinks. Mijin An

Ulleung Minewater is one the more expensive products on the market, as has new package design with a premium look.

Jinro has released a new brand targetting young women.

Jinro, founded in 1924, is the largest producer of soju, a Korean distilled alcohol similar to Japanese shochu and vodka.

This year the company is celebrating several milestones, with the 10th anniversary of the Chamisul, currently the highest selling variety of soju in Korea, and the launch of a new drink, named simply “J,” which targets young women.

Chamisul was launched on October 19th, 1998, when Korean was deeply mired in financial crises. Rather than rely on  traditional advertising, Jinro employed “human bomb marketing,” announcing the new drink by sending representatives directly to bars and hip nightlife spots. Until that time, it had been an unwritten rule that soju contained at least 25% alcohol by volume. Chamisul, targeting a younger demographic, broke this tradition by introducing a milder drink with 23%, which has been gradually reduced over the past decade to the current 19.5%. Since its launch, over 14 billion bottles, which laid end to end, would stretch from Seoul to the southern city of Busan, according to the Jinro website.

The new “J” variety of Jinro was launched September 26, also has a relatively low alcohol content of 19.5%, and is distilled with mineral water extracted from 1032 meters below sea level. The launch was announced through a series of print and TV ads featuring popular actress Song Hei Gyu, and using key words such as slim, trendy, and cool. This and other Jinro products are now prominently advertised as being free of genetically modified ingredients.

September also saw the launch of Aqua Blue, a new mineral water in Jinro’s Seoksu water line. Mijin An

Ten years of Chamisul. The alcohol content has been gradually reduced to 19.5%.

Learn more:
Other Jinro products
Jinro official site (Korean)