Dongsuh Foods sells 1 bn bottles of Starbucks ready-to-drink beverages

Starbucks’ Caffe Latte. [Courtesy of Dongsuh Foods]

More than 1 billion bottles of Starbucks’ ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages have been sold in South Korea since their launch in 2006, with cumulative sales exceeding 1 trillion won ($782.3 million).

Dongsuh Foods Corp. said on Monday that the company has sold more than 1 billion bottles of Starbucks’ RTD coffee products. Dongsuh Foods is an exclusive Korean partner of the U.S. Starbucks in retail and production of RTD beverages.

A RTD coffee is a chilled product that comes pre-made in a can or bottle. The Starbucks brand boasts higher quality than other RTD coffee products available at supermarkets, convenience stores, and e-commerce platforms.

Cumulative sales of Starbucks RTD coffee products in Korea hit 1 trillion won, with 100 million won alone last year.

Among the 25 RTD items, Starbucks’ Caffe Latte has been the most consumed with 23 million bottles, followed by Double Shot Espresso with 21 million cans.

Dongsuh Foods has been the sole supplier of Starbucks’ RTD products, following an agreement for manufacturing and retail with the U.S. Starbucks headquarters.

Starbucks RTD was introduced in Korea for the first time in 2006. In the first year, sales hit 3.5 million bottles. Dongsuh Foods has continued to introduce a broader range of RTD coffee products, from the initial 3 cans of Starbucks Frappuccino to Cold Brew PET bottles in 2017.

The launch of Starbucks’ RTD coffee has served as a catalyst for explosive growth in the country’s coffee industry. The market has grown to 1.45 trillion won in value last year from 170 billion won in 2006.

Dongsuh Foods, in the meantime, plans to launch marketing promotions to mark the latest milestone in Starbucks RTD sales.