Starbucks 'Summer Carry Bag' Recall Ends... Recovery Rate Exceeds 70%

100% Recovery Not Achieved Due to 'Voluntary Recall' Impact
Coupon Exchange Available Upon Store Visit Even After Completion

Starbucks Korea has initiated a full recall of the customer giveaway item "Summer Carry Bag" after detecting the carcinogen formaldehyde. Photo by Starbucks

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Starbucks Korea has recalled about 70% of the 'Summer Carry Bag' customer giveaway items after detecting the carcinogen formaldehyde.

According to the industry on the 12th, Starbucks ended the recall by recovering about 700,000 units, which is about 70% of the 1,079,100 Summer Carry Bags distributed in the market from July to the 11th.

The total quantity Starbucks decided to recall includes 1,062,910 units provided as promotional gifts and 16,200 units sold through an affiliated company's online panel.

The Summer Carry Bag is a travel bag introduced as a giveaway item in Starbucks' e-frequency event this summer. After the item was distributed as a giveaway, a small amount of the carcinogen formaldehyde was detected, leading to a full recall.

Starbucks was unable to recover 100% of the distributed items because the recall was a 'voluntary recall' without mandatory enforcement, and various factors such as customers continuing to use the bags or discarding them likely contributed.

However, Starbucks stated that a 70% recovery rate is relatively high compared to typical industry cases.

Starbucks will continue to accept carry bag returns at stores after the 11th and exchange them for coupons. For each recalled product, Starbucks provides three free drink coupons, and customers who received the Summer Carry Bag through e-frequency stamp accumulation are given three free drink coupons plus a Starbucks gift certificate worth 30,000 KRW.

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