Pizza Hut, CU Launch Pizza Seolgi Rice Cakes on October 8

Pizza Hut launched a product called "Pizza Hut Pizza Seolgi" on October 8, a cup-format rice cake topped with tomato sauce, pepperoni, and gouda, provolone, and mozzarella cheeses. The item is priced at 3,900 won and is sold at Pizza Hut stores nationwide, through the chain's official online channels, and on the delivery platforms Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats, and Yogiyo.

CU released its own version, "Pizza Jeolpyeon," the same day. The convenience store chain's product uses sliced rice cake topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, corn, and olives, and carries a regular sale price of 3,800 won.

Emart24 took a different route, working with the rice cake shops Yeongdodari Tteokbang and Iksan Nonghyup Tteokbang. The retailer offered pizza seolgi and other rice cake items from September 17 to 20 at its Trend Lab Seongsu and Dessert Lab Seoul Forest stores.

Demand built up over the summer

CU attributed the timing to social media interest in the product, citing big data platform SomeTrend. According to CU, mentions of "pizza seolgi" on social media grew from fewer than 100 in April to about 2,000 in August and more than 10,000 in September.

The format follows earlier rice cake launches tied to food trends. In 2025, CU released "Dubai chewy rice cake," which used glutinous rice cake instead of marshmallow during the Dubai chewy cookie craze, and the product reached cumulative sales of about 2.8 million units.

The products are also circulating on online grocery channels. According to Kurly, pizza seolgi entered the platform in mid-August and reached the top ranks of its rice cake popular products within two weeks. The retailer said transaction value in its rice cake and traditional snack category grew about twofold year-on-year in June through August, and its related product lineup expanded by 80%.