Last Year, 100 Million Cups Sold: CU Instant Coffee Continues to Thrive This Winter

Convenience Stores Change the Landscape of the Coffee Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Convenience store instant coffee continues to enjoy high popularity even during the winter season. The advantage of being able to enjoy fresh coffee beans at a reasonable price is interpreted as a factor stimulating purchase desire.

According to CU on the 13th, from last December to mid-January, instant coffee GET Coffee recorded a 34.5% sales growth rate compared to the previous year. During the same period, representative warm cabinet beverages such as soy milk increased by 2.2%, honey water by 5.3%, tea drinks by 6.0%, and herbal drinks by 8.5%, all showing single-digit growth rates.

It is interpreted that customers seeking warm drinks in winter are choosing instant coffee made from fresh beans brewed immediately at a reasonable price in the 1,000 won range, rather than warm cabinet beverages. Additionally, the recent warm winter weather and the ‘Eoljuka (drinking iced coffee even if freezing)’ trend have boosted iced coffee sales. In fact, iced coffee accounts for 15% of total GET Coffee sales.

Since entering the full winter season from December to mid-January, GET Coffee has consistently ranked first in sales among all products sold at CU (excluding cigarettes), surpassing popular convenience store items such as soju, beer, and banana milk. Over the past three years, the year-over-year sales growth rates were 33.7% in 2017, 42.9% in 2018, and 40.1% in 2019, showing a steep growth trend, and last year it surpassed 100 million cups sold annually for the first time.

The growth of instant coffee has also elevated the status of convenience stores in the coffee market. Looking at the domestic coffee retail channel market size in 2018, convenience stores (40.8%) recorded the highest market share, pushing out large discount stores (22.9%), chain supermarkets (14.4%), independent supermarkets (13.1%), and general grocery stores (8.8%).

Kim Shin-yeol, MD of the Beverage Food Team at BGF Retail, said, “The proportion of instant coffee in total coffee sales exceeded 10% for the first time last year, showing steadily increasing popularity every year. Recently, consumers seeking instant coffee regardless of the season are increasing day by day, leading changes in the beverage market.”

Meanwhile, as sales of instant coffee have increased, CU changed the coffee beans used in GET Coffee last year to eco-friendly beans certified by the Rainforest Alliance (RFA), and offers a 100 won discount to customers who use personal tumblers instead of disposable cups.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.