Fruit and vegetable spending leads fresh food purchases in South Korea

• 

  Fruit and vegetable purchases ranked first and second by value among fresh food items bought by consumers in South Korea over the past year.

• 

  Eggs ranked third, seafood fourth and rice fifth, while major meats ranked sixth.

• 

  Large discount stores accounted for 42.2% of fresh food purchase value, the largest channel share, but this was down 1 percentage point from the previous year.

• 

  Fresh food purchase value at convenience stores rose 20.4% year on year, while online purchase counts rose 3.3% and offline counts fell 3.6%.

• 

  The analysis covered products with standard barcodes and did not include purchases at traditional markets or some specialist stores.

Who

Consumers in South Korea, as measured in Embrain’s panel purchase data.

What

Fruit and vegetables ranked highest in fresh food purchases by value.

When

The data covered August last year through July this year. The report was published on October 11, 2026, in South Korea.

Where

South Korea.

Why

The article suggests fruit and vegetables may be bought for meals, snacks and health management, but does not establish a specific cause.

This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.

No direct quotes in the coverage so far.