SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Iced coffee is gaining unexpected popularity in South Korea despite the cold winter weather.
The ratio of hot and cold drink sales at Starbucks Korea December last year was 5 to 5, deviating from a 6:4 ratio in 2019.
With stricter social distancing measures in place that limit consumers to purchasing drinks at coffee shops only for take-out or delivery, a growing number of customers are visiting cafes to take out iced drinks.
Ediya Coffee Co., a local coffee franchise operator, reported a sales ratio of hot and iced americanos of 49 to 51 last December, deviating from a 57:43 ratio in the previous year.
Online shopping mall Gmarket reported a 330 percent sales increase for iced americano e-coupons between Dec. 6 and Jan. 5 compared to the same period in the previous year.
“More variations of iced coffee, such as cold brew beverages, also seem to have led to an increase in iced coffee sales,” an industry watcher said.
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