As the flowers start to blossom, the packages in convenience stores turn pink, signifying an end to the dreary winter days and a start to the exuberant spring shopping season. It has been part of “store-tradition” to release limited edition snacks under the theme of spring, and we can see numerous appearances of these items in the aisles of these stores.
Convenience stores undoubtedly constitute a big part of our day-to-day life as many of us visit these stores, otherwise known as “pyeonijeoms,” on a daily basis, whether it is for a quick meal, a light snack, or a heavy indulging on late night junk-foods. Thus, the spring event is quite a delightful and unique token that propagates the sweet and cheerful mood of this season to all of us.
Dubbed as the “Cherry Blossom” event, countless products have been released in celebration of the atmosphere of love and sweetness and the beautiful cherry blossoms that complement the arrival of spring. It is a refreshing sight to see all the packages in convenience stores change color, along with the flowers that begin to add colors to the trees that are desolate of leaves after a cold and harsh winter.
The spring specials range from chips and popcorn to drinks, under a united theme of pink and strawberry flavors. For example, the strawberry flavored popcorn seemed to be quite the popular choice.
“I think it’s a great addition to my daily snack-routine,” said Brian Lee (11). “I like both popcorn and strawberries, so I guess it’s a win-win for me. I’m hoping that this event lasts a while.”
The most popular items at these stores are the Spring Honey Butter Chips, the Spring Popcorns, the Spring Chocolate Pies, the Spring Cake Rolls, and the Spring Lattes. Personally, the chocolate pies were quite overdone, because strawberry is not a flavor that necessary goes along well with chocolate. In addition, most of them were too sweet due to the overwhelming combination of the two tastes. The cake rolls however, were delicious. The combination of strawberry and cream, the soft texture of the cakes, and the pleasing color all added up to a great product.
Most of the chips were quite generic, as they were all strawberry-flavored versions of their original product. What was really great about them was that the strawberry-flavor wasn’t too strong, but was more of a lingering taste that appeared slightly upon chewing. The Spring Popcorns were the best at creating this timid scent of strawberries.
Furthermore, despite their unique tastes and the limited manner of their release, their prices are only about 100 won more expensive than their original counterparts. The variety and relatively economical costs of these products make a good incentive for convenience store dwellers to “try them all.”
“My favorite one right now is the Spring Honey Butter Chip, but there are still many more left for me to try,” said Joanne Yang (9). “I hope to try them all before the event ends.”
The spring event is scheduled to end around May 31 across all of the stores, so there is not much time left to enjoy these fresh new items. It is not a bad idea to momentarily set aside your diet to try these spring-themed products and enjoy the beauty and sweetness of the season before it comes to an end.