[Edaily Reporter kim mi-kyung ] As the cold winds blow, more consumers are seeking out steamed buns, a classic winter snack.

SPC SAMLIP(005610)SAMLIP announced on the 5th that sales of “SAMLIP Ho-bbang” through convenience store channels rose by approximately 44% year-over-year during the first three weeks following its launch this season. Ho-bbang sales across all channels also increased by about 20% during the same period.

SAMLIP attributed the sales growth to its advertising campaign, word-of-mouth on social media, and enhanced product competitiveness. The advertising campaign featuring actor Gong Myung as the new brand ambassador surpassed 2 million views within just one week of its release. A post titled “How to Steam Ho-bbang Deliciously,” which originated on the social media platform Threads, spread to major short-form platforms such as Instagram Reels, garnering significant attention.

The company also enhanced product competitiveness. SAMLIP improved the flavor of existing products—such as red bean, vegetable, pizza, sweet potato, and kimchi—and applied newly developed baking technology to make the ho-bbang dough even softer. The company is also launching new products this month. These include “Taco Hobang,” a reinterpretation of Mexican tacos; “Gamju Whole Red Bean Hobang,” made with gamju tangzhong dough; and “Black Sugar Red Bean Hobang,” featuring the flavor of Okinawan black sugar.

The company also unveiled keychain merchandise modeled after the Hobang packaging. On the 3rd, SAMLIP first sold the “SAMLIP Hobang Goods Edition”—a random assortment of 12 SAMLIP Hobang buns and one keychain—during a Naver Live broadcast.

A SAMLIP official stated, “We’ve been seeing strong results from the start thanks to our advertising campaign and organic word-of-mouth,” adding, “We will continue to offer differentiated products and diverse marketing activities to expand our consumer reach and accelerate our push into the winter market.”