Starbucks Korea said Sunday it opened its 13th eco-friendly outlet in the country, as part of its continuous attempts to recycle waste and create jobs for socially disadvantaged people. Called "Zero waste: eco-star cafe," according to Starbucks, the pilot store recently opened in Incheon, and is jointly operated by the Korea Environment Corp. and Starbucks to ramp up the coffee franchise's environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, efforts. "We will continue to e

Industry March 19, 2023

This is the third installment of a series of interviews with global business chiefs of South Korean food companies that are expanding aggressively in overseas markets. -- Ed. Characteristically zesty, zingy and spicy -- and with very little in the way of similar flavors abroad -- kimchi is arguably Korea's most symbolic dish. Strategies to creatively market kimchi so that it may become common-place on dinner tables around the world are essential for kimchi to penetrate into overseas markets

Consumer March 16, 2023

Korea Ginseng Corp., the country’s leading ginseng manufacturer, said Wednesday it set up a research and development center in California in a bid to continue its development of Korean ginseng customized for the US market and ramp up its sales overseas. KGC said with the new R&D center it plans to research ways to improve the functions of its flagship red ginseng products sold in the US -- including boosting the products' capability to improve consumers' immunity, reduce fati

Industry March 15, 2023

South Koreans drink an average of two to three cups of coffee per day, with the overwhelming majority of coffee consumers in their 40s and 50s, a survey showed Tuesday. Experts explain that Korea's work culture, along with a slew of other factors, contributed to the nation's obsession with coffee. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation from March 2019 to May 2022, nearly half of the respondents (47.4 percent) said they drink two to three

Consumer March 14, 2023

Korean beauty products have strong competitiveness in the overseas market with their affordable prices, quality and the ability to quickly reflect trends in the dynamically changing global cosmetics industry, says the CEO of Able C&C, a firm that manages a range of Korean budget cosmetics brands including Missha. "South Korea has a unique cosmetics ecosystem, as opposed to France and the United States -- the original powerhouses of the global cosmetics industry," said CEO Kim Eugen

Consumer March 13, 2023

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang is expected to withdraw from the Japanese delivery service market later this month and to focus more on expanding its business in Korea and Taiwan, according to news reports Sunday. Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun, or more commonly known as the Nikkei, reported Saturday that Coupang Japan has decided to end its pilot food and household goods delivery service it has run over the past two years on March 21. The pilot program, launched in June 2021, aims to

Consumer March 12, 2023

This is the second installment of a series of interviews with global business chiefs of South Korean food companies that are expanding aggressively in overseas markets. -- Ed. About 7 out of 10 tofu products sold in the US are made by South Korean food giant Pulmuone. Cho Kil-su, head of Pulmuone USA, said its unrivaled market position is an outcome of years of efforts to creatively localize one of the most highly regarded alternative sources for protein -- Korean tofu -- along with a slew o

Consumer March 9, 2023

South Korean beauty giant Amorepacific's luxury skin care subsidiary Sulwhasoo said Thursday it signed a partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a bid to conduct various collaborative works with the New York-based art museum, including the preservation of Korean cultural artifacts. Sulwhasoo, which has been promoting traditional Korean art and craftsmen through its exhibition series, will be working with the Met for a year starting this March. Throughout the year, Sulwhasoo will

Industry March 9, 2023

Only 1 out of 4 employees working at major Korean companies were women, with their average yearly income some 30 percent less than that of the men at the companies, according to a report from market tracker Korea CXO Institute. Korea CXO Institute analyzed the 15 South Korean companies with the highest sales across 10 different sectors, in a bid to gain insight into the gender ratio in the Korean workspace and the wage gap between Korean male and female employees. According to the results, the n

Industry March 7, 2023

Wholesale prices of hanwoo, or Korean beef, a highly coveted luxury food item among South Korean consumers, are estimated to drop further this year due to increased supply but sagging demand amid widespread inflation fears. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute Monday, the wholesale prices of Korean beef for the first half of 2023 are expected to range from 16,500 ($12.73) to 17,500 won per kilogram. This range marks an average 20.9 percent decrease from the same period last year, when

Consumer March 6, 2023

The number of Chinese consumers who bought Korean products plummeted last year amid China's falling perception of Korea-made commodities, according to a survey conducted by the Korea International Trade Association. KITA conducted a survey on 1,000 consumers living in 10 major Chinese cities to gain insight into changes in their perceptions toward Korea-made goods since the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey, released Sunday, found that the percentage of Chinese consumers who responded that th

Consumer March 5, 2023

South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific is reconstructing its brand image in a bid to wean its sales off a dependence on China and ramp up its sales in North America and Europe. According to Amorepacific, the company on Wednesday released First Care Activating Serum VI, the six edition of Sulwhasoo's flagship serum. Sulwhasoo is Amorepacific's luxury skincare subsidiary brand that accounts for some 40 percent of the Korean beauty giant's total annual cosmetics sales. The company

Industry March 2, 2023

South Korean construction giant Booyoung Group said Wednesday it has donated a total of 200 buses to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh as part of its ongoing social contribution activities in the Southeast Asian country. Booyoung Group founder and Chairman Lee Joong-keun and Phnom Penh Municipal Gov. Khuong Sreng attended the delivery ceremony held Tuesday (local time), with dozens of city and company officials and Korean residents there present. The latest donation, worth $8.83 million, aims

Industry March 1, 2023

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang is extending its winning streak in earnings, posting a profit for the second consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter 2022, according to its earnings report on Wednesday. The US-listed company said it posted quarterly operating profits of $83.4 million in the September-December period, an almost 10 percent growth from $77 million in the third quarter when the company first turned a profit since launching its ultrafast Rocket Delivery service in 2014. The co

Consumer March 1, 2023

South Korean duty-free retailers are expected to see a bump in profits this year with the return of Chinese tourists, according to a Bank of Korea report released Tuesday. This year the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea is estimated to reach 2 million –10 times last year’s 200,000. The Korean government’s lifting of mandated PCR tests for Chinese tourists upon arrival and the recent resumption of short-term visa issuance for Chinese nationals were cited as key driving

Consumer Feb. 28, 2023