SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Major franchise coffee shops in South Korea saw their revenue fall in 2015 in the face of tougher competition with cheap take-out coffee amid economic slowdown, heading to another tough year, data showed Tuesday. Homegrown coffee brands have sprung up in Asia’s fourth-largest economy over the past decade to [...]
SEOUL, April 8 (Korea Bizwire) – The Chinese beer Tsingtao has emerged as the No. 1 import brand in South Korea at a leading supermarket chain, industry data showed Friday, amid the rising popularity of Chinese cuisine in the country. According to the data compiled by E-Mart, Tsingtao outpaced other rivals in sales over the January-March [...]
SEJONG, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) – Exports of dried and seasoned seaweed products have increased dramatically after they won the hearts of Chinese consumers. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports of dried and seasoned seaweed peaked in 2015, and the $224.3 million in sales was a 10.8 percent increase compared to 2014. Considering sales [...]
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) - The government here on Thursday announced an unprecedented campaign to reduce sugar consumption by its people, designating sugar as the main culprit behind the rising rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases in Korean society. In the initial five-year phase of the anti-sugar campaign, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will [...]
SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean rice hit shelves in Beijing for the first time in history on Thursday to meet rising Chinese demand for Korean-made agricultural products and foodstuffs. China’s state-run agricultural trading company COFCO Corp. imported some 72 tons of South Korean rice in February and put it on sale in an upscale [...]
SEOUL, April 5 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean retail chain operator E-mart Inc. said Tuesday its sales of goods produced through collaborations with local pop stars have emerged as a new cash cow on the back of their strong popularity. E-mart, which rolled out different kinds of goods designed under ties with local entertainment agency S.M. [...]
SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) – Low-cost coffees at South Korean convenience stores are increasingly popular among price-conscious consumers, posing a threat to coffee shop franchises, industry data showed Monday. Local convenience stores have served canned coffee and instant coffee with hot water for years, but they are expanding sales of higher-quality drinks through self-serve coffee bars [...]
SEJONG, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean seafood will be exported to China under the integrated brand name of “K-Fish,” starting this month, the maritime ministry said Sunday. The K-Fish products include “gim,” or dried seaweed, oysters, sea cucumbers, brown seaweed and sea tangle, produced by six local seafood companies, according to the Ministry [...]
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Global fast food franchise McDonald’s has announced that its Korean branch is looking for ‘strategic partners’ in management. The CEO of McDonald’s Global, Steve Esterbrook, revealed his intentions to combine the global brand of McDonald’s with insight and expertise in the Korean market. “Through the partnership, we’re hoping to [...]
SEOUL, March 31 (Korea Bizwire) – Increased consumer awareness about health is boosting the health functional food industry, and is now pushing the food industry to set its sights on probiotics. Probiotics are showing noticeable growth among health functional foods, and since the domestic market is still in its nascent stage, competition to take the [...]