"Coffee and Zero Sugar Craze"... Domestic Beverage Market Size Surpasses 10 Trillion Won for the First Time

Food Industry Statistical Information Aggregation
Last Year's Sales Amount 10.311 Trillion Won
7.6% Growth Compared to the Previous Year

Last year, the domestic beverage market size in South Korea surpassed 10 trillion won for the first time. This is attributed to the launch of various ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, as well as growth driven by liquid coffee and low-calorie and zero-sugar carbonated drinks.

A customer is purchasing an ice cup and a beverage at an Emart24 store.
[Photo by Emart24]

According to the Food Industry Statistics Information of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) on the 28th, the domestic beverage market size last year recorded 10.311 trillion won in sales, marking a 7.6% increase compared to the previous year (9.583 trillion won). This is the first time the domestic beverage market, which has been growing annually, has exceeded 10 trillion won.

By category, coffee accounted for the largest share of domestic sales last year at 30.8%. This was followed by carbonated drinks (24.5%), tea (12.1%), mixed beverages (11.4%), fruit and vegetable juices (8.2%), soy milk (4.2%), and ginseng and red ginseng drinks (3.5%).

Sales of carbonated drinks, black tea, ginseng, fermented beverages, and coffee drinks increased compared to the previous year, while sales of fruit and vegetable juices declined due to health concerns over sugar content.

Photo by Food Industry Statistics Information

Among beverages, the market share of liquid coffee by company based on retail distribution channels in 2021 showed Lotte Chilsung holding 25.3%, followed by Dongseo Food (16.6%), Maeil Dairies (15.6%), and Coca-Cola Beverage (10.9%).

Meanwhile, the global beverage market size reached 1.4971 trillion USD last year, up about 2% from 1.4657 trillion USD the previous year. The global beverage market had sharply contracted due to reduced outdoor activities and a steep decline in beverage consumption caused by COVID-19 but has been rising at an average annual rate of 7.7% since 2021.

According to global market research firm Statista, the global beverage market is expected to grow to 2.041 trillion USD by 2027. Globally, 'health' and 'sustainability' trends such as zero-sugar and low-calorie beverages have become established in the beverage market, with the zero-sugar beverage market projected to grow more than threefold from 3.3 million USD this year to 13.2 million USD by 2033.

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