SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s imports of coffee declined last year for the first time since 2012, suggesting that the boom of coffee shops might have peaked, data showed Sunday. Imports of coffee fell to 143,000 tons in 2018, down 2,600 tons from a year ago, according to data by the Korea [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Sales of brewed coffee at local convenience stores have increased as more South Koreans seek cost effective drinks in the face of rising consumer prices, industry data showed Tuesday. BGF Retail Co., the operator of South Korea’s largest convenience store chain, CU, said revenues from brewed coffee at its [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The world’s very first 5G robot cafe has opened in Seoul. KT Corp. announced on Tuesday that it has introduced 5G service at Beat Coffee, an unmanned cafe owned by Dal.komm Coffee, a South Korean coffee franchise, where a barista robot takes orders and prepares beverages. KT implemented a [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Blue Bottle Coffee Co., an upscale U.S. coffee chain operator, said Wednesday that it will open its first Korean shop in Seoul in the second quarter of next year as the company moves to expand its presence in the Asian market. It said the new cafe and a roastery [...]
GANGNEUNG, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – The amount of trash from this year’s coffee festival held in Gangneung was cut drastically compared to last year. According to the local civic organization, 4 tons of regular trash and 1 ton of recyclable waste resulted from the 10th Gangneung Coffee Festival held between October 5 and 9. [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — New data shows that South Korea is one of the 10 largest importers (in terms of price) of coffee products produced in the European Union (EU). According to Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, the sum amount of coffee products exported from the EU to South Korea last year totaled [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Starbucks Coffee Korea Co. is adding 300 more ‘cashless shops’ in addition to the 103 stores currently in operation, starting on Monday. Cashless stores recommend that customers use a means of payment other than cash. The company noted that adding 300 more cashless stores would amount to one-third of [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Approximately 1 out of 10 franchised stores selling coffee and beverages shut down last year due to sluggish sales and other factors. Experts cite heightened competition within the saturated franchise market as the main issue, resulting in a wider polarization between successful and unsuccessful franchise business outlets. According to [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Sales of tumblers at local coffee franchises surged last month amid the government’s push to reduce the use of plastic cups and straws to protect the environment. Since last month, the government has been clamping down on coffee shops that provide drinks in disposable cups without first asking customers. [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Selling coffee will be completely banned at elementary, middle and high schools starting mid-September, the food ministry said Tuesday. The ban will become effective as of Sept. 14 following a law revision, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Foods and beverages with high levels of caffeine [...]