SEOUL, South Korea — More and more South Korean consumers are buying brewed coffee in local convenience stores as a cheaper option in the face of rising consumer prices, according to new industry data.
BGF Retail Co., the operator of South Korea’s largest convenience store chain, CU, said revenues from brewed coffee at its outlets jumped 42.9 percent in 2018 from a year earlier.
Its brewed coffee is priced between 1,200 won (US$1.07) and 2,200 won, less than half the average price at local coffee chains.
Sales of desert products have also jumped on the back of the popularity of brewed coffee, with the revenues from cake and rice cake 4.3 times higher last year than a year earlier.
South Korea’s consumer prices rose 1.3 percent in December from a year earlier, with the index rising 1.5 percent on-year for the whole of 2018.
