Good for you and your wallet: Daiso to sell dietary supplements

Dollar store chain Daiso will start selling dietary supplements from next Monday, sticking to its price cap of 5,000 won as it squares up against Olive Young.

A customer shops at a Daiso store in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Dec. 13, 2023. [NEWS1]

Dollar store chain Daiso will start selling dietary supplements from next Monday, further expanding its portfolio of budget goods that cost 5,000 won ($3.50) or less.

Daiso will sell the supplements at around 200 branches nationwide before expanding them to other locations, its operator, Asung Daiso, said. Some examples of health supplements include Omega-3 products and vitamins in forms like pills, gummies or liquids.

The price range will be under the chain’s price cap of 5,000 won. The chain sells items at only six prices: 500 won, 1,000 won, 1,500 won, 2,000 won, 3,000 won and 5,000 won.

The chain began selling the dietary supplements at its Maebong Station branch for a test run on Feb. 14.

Daiso did not provide a list of products for the Monday launch and did not specify whether they will be private label brands or from other manufacturers. Photos of the Feb. 14 trial event showed that CKD Healthcare’s LactoFit probiotics and Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s milk thistle products were on sale.

With the launch, Daiso enters a nutritional supplement market estimated to be worth around 6 trillion won as of 2024 by the Korea Health Functional Food Association. The franchise currently only sells quasi-drugs manufactured by pharmaceuticals.

The retailer — which sells a wide range of goods, from furniture to household items and stationery — has continuously expanded its portfolio of products, including a successful venture into cosmetics.

Daiso started its push into cosmetics by partnering with brands specializing in beauty products in April 2021. What started out as a four-brand range that year has grown into partnership with 60 brands, including large firms like LG H&H and Amorepacific, selling around 500 products.

A spokesperson for Daiso said its cosmetic sales in 2024 rose by 144 percent on year. The retailer’s products like microneedle cosmetics and cream blushes often went viral on social media, gaining attention for being “dupe” products at budget prices.

The nutritional supplement addition positions Daiso as a more direct competitor to cosmetics and healthy supplement retailer Olive Young. Both are expected to have made over 4 trillion won in sales last year, according to investment firm estimates.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]