SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Starbucks Korea reported a 28 percent on-year jump in its operating profit in the first half of the year amid rising appetite for premium coffee, discount store chain E-Mart said Tuesday. From January to June, the U.S. coffee giant posted an operating profit of 74.7 billion won (US$61 million) [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean imports of Japanese beer and cars tumbled in July due to a boycott of Japanese products here amid a bilateral trade spat with the neighbor, data showed Tuesday. Imports of Japanese beer nose-dived 45 percent on-month to US$4.34 million last month, according to the data from the [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Recent data has revealed that South Korea was the fifth-largest importer of European beer last year. The biggest export market for European Union (EU) beer last year was the United States, where a combined 1 billion liters of beer were exported, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. This is [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid the widespread boycott following export restrictions imposed by Japan, the large discount store and convenience store industry decided to exclude Japanese products from its import beer discount promotions. Three major retailers – E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus – have effectively suspended new orders for Japanese beer as a [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The frozen food market, especially frozen cooked rice, which used to be dominated by fried rice in the past, is emerging as a new leader in the market for convenience foods with improved quality. The size of South Korea’s frozen rice market stood at 91.5 billion won (US$77.5 million) [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean-made dried laver is the number one player in the Indonesian market with an increasing market share. In particular, South Korea is seen as an “origin country of dried laver” in Indonesia as Korean dried laver products are more than 10 times more popular than Japanese products. Indonesia’s [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – The buzz and popularity of ‘brown sugar bubble tea’ from Taiwan is continuing in South Korea. However, brown sugar drinks are high in calories and sugar, which requires the attention of some consumers, including those with diabetes. Brown sugar drinks are often advertised as having ‘healthy sweetness’ that is natural and unprocessed, but they [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Industry analysts say that the South Korean coffee industry will continue to expand fueled by specialty coffee shops in the future. South Korea’s coffee industry is estimated at 6.8 trillion won (US$5.77 billion) this year, the Hyundai Research Institute said Sunday in a report. The coffee industry is divided [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Blue Bottle Coffee Inc. said on Tuesday that it will increase the number of its outlets in South Korea to four this year as it seeks to tap deeper into one of the world’s most competitive coffee markets. The California-based coffee company advanced to Korea in May by opening [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean soju and pork exports to Muslim countries, where alcohol and pork are normally forbidden, are rising. The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) reported on Wednesday that last year’s soju exports to Indonesia reached $1.3 million, a 10.1 percent increase from the previous year. Between January [...]