The Rise of Instant Trends: How Orion’s Cheese Chips Became Korea’s New Snack Sensation

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Before the buzz around the Dubai chewy cookie—better known online as “DuJjonKu”—has even cooled, retailers and food brands are already jockeying for the next big thing. There’s a quiet war underway to claim the post-DuJjonKu crown. These days, the snack market’s trend cycle feels alarmingly short. Remember when honey butter chips were a multi-year obsession? Those days are gone. Now, instant trends that peak and vanish within weeks dominate the landscape.

The current standout: Orion’s limited-edition Moist Yellow Cheese Chip. Orion took the pillowy texture of its nationwide favorite, Moist Choco Chip, and added a savory, salty yellow-cheese twist. Launched on the 26th of last month as part of the Cheese Workshop limited series alongside Market O and Na! Sand, its sweet-and-salty profile has struck a chord with the MZ generation (millennials and Gen Z), spreading like wildfire across social platforms and online communities.

The result? It sold 380,000 boxes in just two weeks. Because it was a limited run, scarcity only fueled demand after initial stock ran out. A snack that retails for roughly 5,000 KRW (approximately $3.75) at major supermarkets is now trading for around 40,000 KRW (approximately $30.00) on resale sites — earning it the tongue-in-cheek nickname “the Hermès of snacks.”

Facing that frenzy, Orion has opted for a second production run. But the follow-up batch will be only about half the size of the original, so shortages are likely to stick around for a while.
 

The snack most often cited on social media as DuJjonKu’s rival is butter tteok. Interestingly, the recipe first blew up among China’s MZ crowd and then bounced back via Instagram Reels. Made by mixing glutinous rice flour with butter and baking it, these treats are crispy on the outside and chewy inside — that “crispy-outside, chewy-inside” texture that’s rattling the bakery scene. Instagram hashtags already top 10,000, independent cafés are limiting purchases per customer, and lines are forming. Convenience store chain CU rolled out a salted butter tteok, and Ediya Coffee launched a condensed-milk–drizzled butter-chewy mochi — a corporate rush echoing the DuJjonKu era.

Don’t overlook the visually driven ube craze, either. The purple yam from the Philippines has been bubbling up on U.S. TikTok and won the hearts of Gen Z first. Its striking purple hue made it irresistible for Instagram-friendly menus, and domestic cafés have added ube lattes and shaved ice to replace some matcha-centered offerings. Now brands are even experimenting with ube in beers and makgeolli. The combination of perceived wholesome ingredients and dramatic color is a perfect match for young consumers who shop with their eyes.

The traditional rice-cake scene has its own surprise hit: Gwangju’s famous Chang-eok Tteok Pumpkin Injeolmi. The surge started with a travel video from the YouTube channel Hamalmneomman, which has about 770,000 subscribers. In a short clip, cast members ate the rice cake on a train and raved that it was on another level — that short-form moment sparked a nationwide tteok frenzy.
 

The trend gained further momentum thanks to fandom power. Popular band DAY6 personally recommended the rice cake, drawing more attention. When DAY6 played in Gwangju, fans turned the rice cake into a must-buy concert souvenir, proving how a local specialty can go national when it hooks into a devoted fanbase.

But behind the glossy hype, fatigue is setting in. With trends flipping every few weeks, consumers say it’s hard to even try something before the next craze arrives. Small-business owners share the anxiety: some admit they add items simply because customers demand them, even if they don’t get why it’s trending. When snacks are consumed more as social-media props than for taste, critics worry our food culture is becoming too disposable.

The bigger risk is economic. Shorter trend lifespans mean higher market volatility. Companies and shop owners feel compelled to chase fads and invest, but often the buzz dies before they break even. Whether today’s showy desserts will evolve into lasting favorites or vanish as casualties of the view-count race is something we’ll need to watch with a cooler head.