Banana is one of the cheapest and common tropical fruits, and definitely not something that most people are desperate for. But what if that familiar sweet taste meets with chocolates, cakes and even soju? The result is quite explosive.

This special combination has made it the hottest item in the food and beverages market in Korea. 

From banana-flavored Choco Pie, potato chips, to makgeolli or rice wine, a number of food processing companies have been introducing a series of banana-themed products.

But not all consumers can lay their hands on them -- as they are often out of stock.

Confectioneries have been operating their production lines at full capacity, but are still in short supply, according to industry officials, calling banana the next honey butter that rocked the market last year.

Orion, one of leading confectioneries here, sold more than 14 million packs of Choco Pie Banana by the end of March, only three weeks after its market debut. The latest variation of Orion’s signature product Choco Pie has banana-flavored vanilla cream between small circular-shaped chocolate pies, offering two different sweet tastes -- banana and chocolate -- at the same time.

Lotte Confectionery also released Mon Cher Choco and Banana three days after Orion’s Choco Pie Banana hit the shelves. Lotte sold about 9.6 million packs within three weeks in March, generating 4 billion won of sales, the company said. Lotte expects to sell more than 30 million packs in April, by operating its production line round-the-clock. It has also introduced Banana Custard that has banana-flavored cream filling.

The reason why companies are pushing ahead with banana-themed products owes to its long-lasting popularity.

According to Lotte Mart, banana topped the list of favored fruits for five consecutive years between 2011 and 2015.


There have been banana-flavored products like Bingrae’s Banana Milk that debuted in 1974. Riding on the popularity of banana, Bingrae has opened Yellow Cafe at Hyundai City outlet in Dongdaemun, fashion district in central Seoul, to offer banana latte, shakes and ice cream.

Kooksoondang, a major Korean rice wine distributor, also released banana rice wine earlier this month, targeting 11 markets around the world including the United States, China, Japan and the United Kingdom.

The banana craze is likely to continue. But remember, most banana-flavored food and beverage products contain no actual banana at all or very little. Artificial additives bring out the tropical fruit’s taste, experts say.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)