U.S. Beef Anchors ‘Cube Steak Lunch Box’ at Korean Convenience Store Chain

USMEF teamed with Korea’s second largest convenience store chain and a U.S. red meat supplier to launch a cube steak promotion that is putting U.S. beef at the center of an ongoing lunch box campaign.

Along with U.S. beef cube steak, the healthy and convenient lunch box contains mashed potatoes and broccoli

The “Cube Steak Lunch Box” for sale at GS25 convenience stores is described as perfect for Korean students and workers looking for healthy meal options for their busy daily lives, said Jihae Yang, USMEF director in Korea.

“The healthy lunchbox is a great way of conveniently and inexpensively putting high-quality protein in the diets of people who don’t have time to prepare their own lunches,” said Yang. “The cube steak is made with U.S. beef steak and paired with rice, sweet potato salad and other side dishes. The lunch box is identical to dishes you find at food markets and to those offered by famous food trucks in the region.”

An increased interest in steak by Korean consumers, combined with the growing popularity of pre-packed meals and food trucks, motivated the country’s convenience stores to expand their lunch box options. GS25, which has more than 12,500 stores in the country, decided to base the beef steak lunch box on the menu of the Chef Lee Food Truck, a popular seller of U.S. beef cube steak.

The “Cube Steak Lunch Box” made with U.S. beef is sold at GS25 stores across South Korea

“They spent five months preparing for the launch of the lunch box and jointly created a steak sauce recipe with the Chef Lee Food Truck,” said Yang. “The dish consists of 60 grams (a little over 2 ounces) of cubed U.S. beef steak, fried rice, mashed potatoes and precooked broccoli. Since the launch in late April, sales have averaged 7,000 per day. The GS25 campaign is expected to sell 12 metric tons of U.S. beef every month.”

USMEF staff in Korea worked with Halhwang, the company which provided GS25 with the product for its cube steak lunch box. USMEF has worked with Halhwang on similar projects, including a promotion launching U.S. pork hot dogs at Korean 7-Eleven stores in 2016.

For the cube steak campaign, Halhwang requested permission to print the USMEF logo on the product to highlight the fact that it is made with U.S. beef.