Lotte data show 29.3% of consumers bought “zero” foods in latest year
In short
Lotte Members said 29.3% of consumers in its data bought foods marketed as “zero” at least once between September 2025 and August 2026. The share rose from 26.3% two years earlier, with people in their twenties and thirties driving the market.
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Lotte Members said 29.3% of consumers in its data bought “zero” foods at least once between September 2025 and August 2026, up 3 percentage points from 26.3% two years earlier. The company released its consumption report on October 19. Newsis said the analysis covered three years of transaction data from 45 million L.Point members. Yonhap described “zero” foods as products marketed as zero sugar or zero calories by reducing sugar or calorie content. [ 1 , 3 ]
The revenue share of “zero” products increased from 5.8% to 6.8% over the same comparison period. Their share of sales volume within puddings and jellies rose 26.9 percentage points to 30%, the largest increase among the categories analysed. In hangover remedies, the share increased 11.8 percentage points to 15%. All three outlets reported those category figures and said the market was growing around consumers in their twenties and thirties. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Lotte Members also reported stronger demand for “zero” versions of established products than for newly conceived “zero” products. Average sales volume per item for established products’ versions was about five times higher in carbonated drinks and about three times higher in puddings, jellies, coffee and tea drinks. The accounts differ in how they describe some percentages: Newsis and Asia Economy present the twenties figure as an overrepresentation relative to all customers, while Yonhap calls it a customer share. Asia Economy also uses a different denominator from Newsis and Yonhap for a 42% carbonated-drink figure. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The company’s data show “zero” products gaining a larger sales share in categories including puddings, jellies and hangover remedies. Established products’ “zero” versions sold more per item than newly conceived “zero” products.
Key facts
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The precise meaning of the reported age-group percentages. Newsis and Asia Economy describe the twenties figure of 42% as an overrepresentation relative to all customers; Yonhap describes it as the share of “zero” customers.
- The denominator for the reported 42% carbonated-drink figure. Newsis and Yonhap describe carbonated drinks as 42% of all “zero” volume; Asia Economy describes “zero” products as 42% of carbonated-drink volume.