Aldi has launched its first-ever soju, a peach-flavored bottle called Jinju Peach Soju that sells for $3.50 for 375 milliliters. The grocery chain is betting that a drink once closely tied to Korean tables can now find a wider U.S. audience in the beer-and-wine aisle.
Arlin Zajmi, the Aldi buying director behind the launch, said the product is already moving fast. He pointed to a broader surge in Korean culture in the U.S. and said the chain is seeing that interest inside its stores, including with the new soju. For shoppers comparing prices, the bottle lands far below many imported spirits and comes in at 12% ABV, lighter than many sojus that often run between 16% and 25%.
That price point matters because the category is still relatively small in the United States even as it gains attention. Soju has been around since about the 13th century, and Jinro soju has been the best-selling spirit in the world for 24 years. But the drink has never had the same mass-market footprint in the U.S., where the International Wine and Spirits Record forecasts 16% annual growth for the category from 2024 to 2029.
Aldi’s version is not a traditional rice-based soju. It uses a wine base instead, which makes it less authentic to purists even if it fits the retailer’s cheaper, lighter-drinking pitch. Zajmi said the grape base helps bring out the peach flavor and gives the drink a lighter body and cleaner finish, a formulation that is closer to a flavored, easygoing spritz base than to the sharper versions many drinkers know from Korean bars.
The appeal, he said, is flexibility. Aldi says the soju can be served chilled on its own or mixed into cocktails, and Zajmi suggested swapping it in for rum in a mojito to lower the alcohol content. He also said peach soju works naturally with sparkling water, lemonade, citrus, iced tea or even prosecco for a more elevated spritz-style drink.
In Korea, soju is often enjoyed with food, not just poured as a standalone shot. It is commonly served as somaek, the simple beer-and-soju mix, and alongside dishes such as tteokbokki, pajeon and Korean fried chicken. That tradition gives Aldi’s launch a cultural anchor, but the retail test is different: the question now is not whether soju has a place in Korean dining, but how far a U.S. grocery chain can push it beyond a niche shelf item.
For now, Aldi is selling a limited, low-cost entry into a category that looks ready to grow but still has a long way to go. What remains unanswered is how widely Jinju Peach Soju is being stocked and whether the chain plans to keep it on shelves long enough to turn a first release into a lasting line.
