Demand for South Korean Shine Muscat expected to be high in coming weeks, says Swedish retailer
Retailer Coop Sweden says it expects to sell a larger volume of Shine Muscat grapes from South Korea in the coming weeks, in part because the fruit has been trending on the social media channel TikTok.
Although the cost of the variety is higher than for other grapes, the company said recent growth in consumer spending had contributed to an increase in demand for the premium product.
“We’ve brought in a larger batch to handle the demand and curiosity around the product,” said Peter Hägg, Coop Sweden’s business manager for fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Starting this week, the grapes will be available in 30 selected stores. They will be priced at around SKr300 (€27) for an 800g punnet.
As Hägg explains, Shine Muscat has become a “global favourite” thanks to its intense sweetness and crispy texture.
This represents an opportunity to offer customers something new, although only time will tell if their popularity will endure after the online influencers have moved on. “It’s too early to determine how long we will continue offering it,” says Hägg.
According to Coop Sweden, demand for fruit among Swedish consumers has been growing for some time.
“We are seeing an increased volume of fruit in our customers’ shopping baskets,” Hägg notes. “Some of the contributing factors are a less strained economy, and our constant development of the fruit and vegetable department as a primary destination in our stores.”
