London pizza chain Yard Sale taps into Korean soju trend

London pizza chain Yard Sale has teamed up with soju producer Jinro to launch a pairing collaboration throughout August as British sales of the Korean drink climb 35% year-on-year.

Yard Sale and Jinro have launched Seoul Mate; a limited-edition Korean pizza and soju pairing across London this August.

The pizza has been inspired by the popular anju (Korean drinking food) buldak that combines chicken covered in a sweet and spicy glaze topped with a layer of melted cheese. The Seoul Mate will feature the signature Yard Sale tomato base, topped with gochujang and gochugaru spiced chicken, spring onions, pickled daikon and fior di latte mozzarella, with a gochujang mayo available on the side.

The flavours of Seoul Mate have been designed to pair with the new peach soju from Jinro’s Chamisul range of lower-ABV fruit-flavoured soju.

Jinro said that the intention of the collaboration was to teach people that Jinro “goes well with food, and not just Korean food”.

The brand said: “The pizza designed by Yard Sale has all the elements of Korean food, a balance of sweet and spice with some barbecue or grill element, this is the perfect backdrop for Jinro.” People are often very surprised to know that in Korea we love cheese. Especially when it is melted into dishes because it balances the spice. The partnership between Yard Sale Pizza and Jinro is a great example of Jinro traversing cuisines and we are very happy to launch our collaboration to give diners the opportunity to discover new flavours, particularly as interest in Korean culture grows.”

Seoul Mate is available in two sizes; 12” priced at £13.50 or 18” priced at £25.50. Jinro Peach can be purchased individually for £7 a bottle (350ml) or half price (£3.50) when ordering a ‘combo deal’ of the pizza and soju together.

A limited-edition box design will be used by Yard Sale throughout August for all pizzas at all sites with a design inspired by Jinro’s toad mascot created by Dela Studio.

The soju brand said it had seen overseas sales outstripping domestic, “which is our focus”. Consumption of Jinro is increasing at a rate of 35% year-on-year, the brand has reported, and “with more collaborations like this we hope to build on this to encourage people to know more about soju so they can truly enjoy it”.

The limited-edition Seoul Mate pizza and JINRO Peach will be available for the month of August at all ten Yard Sale pizza sites.

The brands are also offering three golden tickets for a festival experience for two placed randomly in pizza boxes between 1-14th August.