"Please Stop Ordering" Part-Timers Overwhelmed... What Is the New 3,900 Won Menu Item That Sold 600,000 Already?

Mega Coffee’s “Yogur Gelato Choco Berry Mix”
600,000 Units Sold in Just 11 Days... Even Shortages Reported
“Yoa-jeong Alternative” Gains Online Popularity Through Word of Mouth

This summer, Mega MGC Coffee (hereafter referred to as Mega Coffee), which shook up the market with its "value-for-money bingsu," is once again making waves with its new cup ice cream priced in the 3,000-won range. From the moment of its release, it became a hot topic on social media, and some stores even experienced stockouts. As prolonged high inflation has led consumers to cut back on spending, Mega Coffee's strategy of offering "small but substantial" products at reasonable prices has been praised for precisely targeting consumer sentiment during the economic downturn.

600,000 Units Sold in 11 Days... Even Stockouts Occurred

Mega MGC Coffee 'Yogurt Gelato Choco Berry Mix'. Mega MGC Coffee

According to Mega Coffee on September 16, the newly launched "Yogurt Gelato Choco Berry Mix" surpassed 600,000 units sold within just 11 days of its release. This is an even faster pace than the "Patbing Syndrome" that swept the market earlier this summer. Some stores faced early stockouts, prompting the headquarters to make emergency inventory adjustments.

Previously, Mega Coffee had generated a strong response by extending the popularity of its cup dessert "Mega Berry Acai Bowl" into the "Patbing" craze. The single-serve cup bingsu desserts, Patbing Gelato Parfait and Mangbing Parfait, sold 1.2 million units within a month of launch, setting a new record by surpassing 9 million units in cumulative sales. At the time, the influx of customers was so overwhelming that part-time employees posted online urging people to visit other stores, claiming, "Other brands' cup bingsu tastes better, so go there instead."

This fall season, "Yogurt Gelato Choco Berry Mix" has taken up the baton. At a reasonable price of 3,900 won, it features yogurt gelato, three types of berries, granola, chocolate rings, and chocolate shells, offering a variety of toppings that perfectly embody the "small but substantial" concept. Reflecting customer feedback, Mega Coffee also released a variant with cereal, previously included in the Patbing, further expanding the range of choices.

Word-of-Mouth as a "Yoajeong Alternative" Spreads on Social Media

Mega MGC Coffee Single-Serve Cup Bingsu. Mega MGC Coffee

Industry insiders point out that the success of this product lies in offering a premium dessert experience at an affordable price. The toppings on the "Yogurt Gelato Choco Berry Mix" are similar to those of the premium brand "Yogurt Ice Cream's Essence (Yoajeong)," which led the yogurt craze in Korea, but the price is much lower. As a result, consumers have responded by saying, "Instead of paying 20,000 won for Yoajeong, let's enjoy it at Mega Coffee without the burden." Social media and online communities have been filled with positive reviews, such as "the ultimate value-for-money fall dessert" and "perfect for a light snack." Some store part-timers have even posted about the hectic atmosphere, saying, "There are too many orders, it's exhausting," and "Please stop ordering."

Experts view this success not as a fleeting trend, but as a new solution for navigating the era of high inflation. Rather than resorting to excessive price hikes amid rising raw material costs, the company opened consumers' wallets by offering smaller sizes at reasonable prices. In fact, major franchises such as Ediya Coffee and Compose Coffee also entered the cup bingsu market this summer and succeeded in boosting sales. Experts predict that, combined with the single-serve consumption trend, the mini-size dessert market is highly likely to become a major source of revenue in the future.