South Korea’s leading soju maker Hite Jinro is teaming up with K-pop boy band Tomorrow X Together (TXT) to win over Japanese consumers, blending two of Korea’s biggest cultural exports: music and alcohol.
The campaign, which kicked off September 17, puts the five-member group front and center on bottles of soju — Korea’s iconic rice liquor — now stocked at convenience stores and supermarkets across Japan.
Fans who buy a set amount can enter a lottery to score tickets to TXT’s ongoing Japan tour, running through December 2. Other limited-edition prizes, such as collectible figures and branded shot glasses, will be up for grabs through March.
To appeal to younger drinkers, Hite Jinro is focusing on fruit-flavored soju varieties such as Fresh, Muscat, and Lemon — flavors that have already proven a hit among Japan’s Gen Z.
The company says its soju sales in Japan have surged since 2020, fueled by the global boom of Korean entertainment content. By tying its brand to TXT, Hite Jinro hopes to further cement its presence in Japan’s highly competitive low-alcohol market.
Industry observers note that young Japanese consumers have shown strong interest in both Korean culture and fruity, easy-to-drink alcoholic beverages — making this collaboration a natural fit.
Hite Jinro added that it plans to expand partnerships with other Korean entertainment acts, hinting at more music-and-soju crossovers in the near future.
