Food and game industries collaborate to release unique products

▲ This photo, provided by Mom's Touch, shows the options for "Mokoko Mom's Set," a limited edition menu created in collaboration with Mom's Touch and Smilegate. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- The food and restaurant industries are now working together with game companies to target customers from the MZ generation (1980-2000s).

Mom's Touch, a South Korean chicken burger chain, released two types of "Mokoko Mom's Set" limited edition menus in partnership with Smilegate, the video game developer for massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) "Lost Ark," from July 14 to Aug. 13.

The set menu is characterized by including a drawing of "Mokoko," the representative character of Lost Ark, on the packaging. Both the "Fried Thigh Boneless Chicken" and the "Black Soy Chicken" menus contained a "Thigh Burger" and coke.

As the menu went viral among game enthusiasts, the chicken sales for Mom's Touch in July doubled in comparison to the previous month.

From Aug. 4, Mom's Touch is currently handing out item coupon cards for the mobile game "Dragon Blood" to customers who purchase any burger or set menus.

Ottogi recently released instant cup noodles in collaboration with Nexon, which owns the mobile racing game "KartRider Rush +" early last month.

Thanks to the partnership, Ottogi's cup noodle sales jumped 29.4 percent last month compared to the figure recorded last July.

"The collaboration between different companies suit the current 'Funsumer (Fun+Consumer)' trend, which pursues to provide fun to consumers' desire to purchase a product." an Ottogi official explained.

E-Mart 24 saw a positive effect on its collaborative lunch boxes using Lost Ark's items in April this year. After 35 days upon its release. the overall sales for lunch boxes surged 51 percent from the figures before the launch.

E-Mart 24 also released a "Moonlight Blade" themed special lunch box based on the MMORPG game "Moonlight Blade" on Aug. 13.

"The collaborative products that target both the main customer base of games and food are gaining popularity," according to a food industry official.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved