Total coffee consumption in South Korea 2013-2020/21

Over 2.5 million bags of coffee, each bag weighing 60 kilograms, were consumed in South Korea in 2020/2021. Coffee consumption has increased steadily over the past years and coffee was one of the most popular drinks for Koreans.

Coffee retail sales

The retail sales value for coffee products in Korea amounted to around 2.5 trillion South Korean won in 2018. The term ‘’coffee products’’ is used because there are various types of coffees sold in Korea, such as instant coffees and capsule coffees. Liquid coffees and coffee beverages containing milk were the bestsellers, accounting for more than 1.3 trillion South Korean won in sales. Coffee mixes, where sugar and cream are packaged together with instant coffee, came in second with around 873 billion South Korean won in sales. The products of Dongsuh Foods were by far the most popular in 2018.

Channels for purchase of coffee

In 2018, the majority of coffee products were purchased in convenience stores scattered across Korea. Their sales value added up to more than one trillion won, around 40 percent of the total retail sales value. This is the result of years of steady growth and does not include the coffee sold in coffee shops. Coffee shop chains also sold many cups of coffee. An example is Starbucks which made over 1.5 trillion South Korean won in sales revenue.