In 2016 South Koreans drank average 500 cups of coffee per person and it is total 25 billion cups in a year. The consumptions have grown 25% from 10 years ago and the sales revenue has tripled. According to Small Enterprises and Market Service, there are about 100,000 coffee shops in Korea and 18,000 shops are located only in Seoul, which is double the number of convenience stores. But the estimations will be even higher when bakeries and dessert cafes are taken into considerations.  The experts say that expansion of brewed coffee market contributes to the rapid growth in the country. Moreover, even though the market is being extremely saturated, starting coffee shops are still the most popular choices. Looking at the coffee shop franchises business report, Cafe Bene is suffering from huge operating losses for four consecutive years and also Tom N Toms has experienced decrease in operating profit. On the other hand, for the first time in the industry Starbucks Coffee Korea saw its sales exceed 1 trillion won last year.

소믈리에타임즈 stpress@sommeliertimes.com