South Korea's Coffee Market Still Growing Rapidly

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations recently said that the daily coffee consumption and monthly coffee cost of 70 percent of South Korean adults are at least one cup and 103,978 won on average, respectively. In its survey, 12.2 percent of respondents said they have coffee five to six times a week and 8 percent and 4 percent mentioned three to four and once or twice, respectively.

South Koreans’ average coffee consumption is 367 cups a year, the second in the world and more than twice the global average. In South Korea, the number of coffee shops per one million people is 1,384 whereas that of runner-up Japan stands at 529. The size of the South Korean coffee market jumped from US$0.3 billion to more than US$4.3 billion from 2007 to 2021.

An increasing number of companies in this market are raising their product prices. This is because coffee bean prices soared last year and costs are rapidly rising this year. For example, last year, the futures price of Arabica beans jumped 76 percent to a 10-year high in the wake of adverse weather conditions in Brazil, etc.

On Jan. 13, Starbucks raised the prices of 23 beverages by 400 won and 15 by 300. Many other companies in the market have followed suit this year. In January to June, Starbucks’ sales totaled 2.39 trillion won and those of the others added up to 1.5 trillion won.