South Korea’s instant coffee market has been on a steady decline despite increasing coffee consumption, as more people drink at coffee shops or buy other types of coffee drinks, industry data showed Tuesday. (Image : Yonhap)
SEJONG, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s instant coffee market has been on a steady decline despite increasing coffee consumption, as more people drink at coffee shops or buy other types of coffee drinks, industry data showed Tuesday.
The instant coffee retail market was valued at 1.05 trillion won (US$895.6 million) last year, falling 9.4 percent compared with a year ago and dipping 14.7 percent from 2012, according to data from the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The combined sales of instant coffee through September also declined 5.7 percent to 751.3 billion won from the same period a year earlier, the ministry said.
Instant coffee is a small sachet that contains dried coffee powder, sugar and powdered cream. Dongsuh Foods Co. has long dominated the market with an over 80 percent share, followed by Namyang Dairy Product with 12 percent and Nestle Korea with 4.2 percent.
The quick caffeine fix has enjoyed popularity among Koreans for decades, but it has been losing market share to coffee shops that have sprung up everywhere in the nation offering freshly brewed coffee and espresso drinks.
A variety of alternative options, such as ready-to-drink coffee and capsule coffee, have also lured consumers away from instant coffee.
The instant coffee market also took a hit after being accused of driving people to consume too much sugar, prompting coffee makers to reduce sugar and replace dairy cream with healthier ingredients.
According to the Korea Customs and Trade Development Institute, adults consumed an average of 341 cups of coffee last year, surging 23.1 percent from 2009.
(Yonhap)
