April Fools' Day social media concept becomes real product; Grandeur, Santa Fe, Ioniq 9 vehicle designs featured in collectible stickers; collection verification and roulette events to drive customer engagement

A sandwich-style ice cream product launched by Hyundai Motor in collaboration with GS25. Each product includes one of 20 collectible peel-and-stick stickers featuring designs from Hyundai Motor's passenger vehicle lineup, randomly inserted. [Hyundai Motor]
A sandwich-style ice cream product launched by Hyundai Motor in collaboration with GS25. Each product includes one of 20 collectible peel-and-stick stickers featuring designs from Hyundai Motor's passenger vehicle lineup, randomly inserted. [Hyundai Motor]

Hyundai Motor has partnered with convenience store chain GS25 to launch an ice cream product, marking an unusual collaboration through which the automaker is expanding its presence in consumers' everyday lives.

Hyundai Motor announced Monday that it will sell the sandwich-style ice cream, called "Hyeonchaneun Bbangbbang" (roughly "Honk Honk"), at GS25 stores nationwide starting Wednesday.

The product features cream cheese-flavored ice cream sandwiched between two pieces of bread. The idea came from a bakery concept Hyundai Motor revealed during its official April Fools' Day social media campaign in 2022, which has since been turned into an actual product.

After the original post drew a wave of online requests for a real release, Hyundai Motor worked with GS25 to bring the concept to market as a summer snack. The move is an effort to reach younger consumers by venturing into a food category unrelated to automobiles.

Each product comes with a randomly inserted peel-and-stick collectible sticker from a set of 20 designs based on Hyundai Motor's passenger vehicle lineup, including the Grandeur, Santa Fe, Nexo and Ioniq 9. The format gives buyers a natural introduction to the company's model range.

To mark the launch, Hyundai Motor will run customer participation events throughout July.

The first three customers who collect all 20 Hyundai Motor stickers and verify their complete set on Hyundai Motor's official Instagram account will each receive a Jeju Island travel package worth 2 million won ($1,290).

A roulette event accessible via a QR code printed on the packaging will also be held. Hyundai Motor will distribute a total of 9 million won in vehicle discount coupons through the event — two first-place winners will each receive a 3 million won coupon, while six second-place winners will each receive a 500,000 won coupon.

Hyundai Motor said it plans to continue pursuing unconventional collaborations and customer-engagement marketing to broaden its reach across different age groups.

"We launched this product to spark interest among younger customers and offer them a new brand experience," a Hyundai Motor official said. "We hope this collaboration with convenience stores — which consumers of all ages visit regularly — will help Hyundai Motor become a more familiar brand to our customers."


kwater@heraldcorp.com