Tanghulu frenzy continues despite health risks

Industry

Published: 27 Oct. 2023, 10:17 Updated: 27 Oct. 2023, 17:47

Tanghulu frenzy continues despite health risks

A tanghulu store situated on the streets of Seoul [NEWS1]

The craze for tanghulu, the Chinese sugarcoated fruit snack that has come under scrutiny due to mounting health concerns, is not waning, as convenience stores join the trend by selling the popular dessert.

Convenience store chain GS25 and food brand Cookat, both subsidiaries of GS Retail, released its latest product “ice strawberry tanghulu” earlier this month to be sold across 17,000 stores nationwide. GS25 is the first convenience store chain fast on their heels to launch their own tanghulu lineup.

This newly developed tanghulu froze the sugar-encrusted strawberries so they could be packaged and sold in bulk across the branches.

A convenience store brand GS25 began selling packaged ice tanghulu earlier this month. Pictured above, a model poses with the product for promotion. [GS25]

“We quickly responded to consumer demand and the store owners’ request to release our own tanghulu lineup,” said a GS25 spokesperson. “Strawberry tanghulu is the beginning of the product expansion.”

The sugar-encrusted fruit dessert is especially popular among teenagers due to its syrupy sweetness and fruity flavor, and exposure on mukbang videos trending on social media. Keyword searches for “tanghulu” on the food delivery app Baemin multiplied 47.3 times in the January-July period, landing No. 3 in the search rankings.

Experts, however, have called out the snack, expressing concern for the younger consumers’ excessive sugar consumption and its impact on their dental health.

Dentist Kang Sung-jin of Seoul Daru Dental Clinic became viral online for saying on his YouTube channel that he might be able to buy a house in Gangnam, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Seoul, if this tanghulu craze continues.

“Dentists unanimously agree that consuming tanghulu is likely to cause cavities,” Kang said during a phone interview with the journalist. “I uploaded the video about tanghulu’s health repercussions since it’s a fairly new trend and wanted to inform people.”

“To prevent cavities, it’s better to eat all you want in one go instead of consuming them multiple times a day,” Kang advised. “It’s better to shorten the time that the snack stays inside your mouth.”

The head of Korea’s largest tanghulu franchise, Wang Ga Tanghulu, was even called out to testify in a National Assembly inquiry on Thursday to address the health issue.

The franchise, which had a mere 43 branches nationwide at the end of last year, expanded to more than 420 branches this month.

Wang Ga Tanghulu, one of the largest tanghulu franchise in Korea, has 420 branches nationwide. [YONHAP]

Jung Chul-hun, co-CEO of Wang Ga Tanghulu, promised to come up with ways to reduce sugar and label the ingredients on the package.

“The sugar level per tanghulu is between nine and 24 grams, which we believed back then was adequate,” Jung said. “However, we now see that we may have overlooked [the health implications] and are researching ways to reduce the sugar level.”

Jung also said the company is working with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on a new package design to include the nutrition label, “which will be released soon.”

BY CHOI SUN-EUL, LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]