Coffee size gets extra-large in Korea as demand grows among young consumers

A customer is looking at a 900ml large-capacity coffee drink product at a CU convenience store on Aug. 15. [Photo by Song Kyung-eun]

The size of coffee beverages is getting bigger in South Korea, with coffee chains and convenience stores offering extra-large cups to cost-efficient consumers amid high inflation.

According to GS Retail Co. on Tuesday, sales of large-size ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee in 500 millimeter (ml) bottles at GS25 convenience stores rose 20.1 percent between June 1 and August 13 from the same period a year ago.

Sales of RTD coffee jumped 8.9 percent during the same period while sales of extra-large-sized RTD coffee that comes in 900ml or more were up 63.5 percent.

Another convenience store chain CU also saw a surge in the sales of 500ml or larger RTD coffee.

Sales were up 14.8 percent between January and July from the same period a year ago, which is more than twice the growth seen in the sales of RTD coffee bottles under 500ml at 7.1 percent.

“The trend toward larger-sized beverages has emerged as a new consumer preference, as more individuals seek value for their spending,” said an unnamed official from BGF Retail Co., the operator of CU.

Coffee products in sizes of 400ml or larger capacity were hard to find in convenience stores five years ago. However, the market has changed significantly, with a rise in the proportion of larger-sized products attributable to the expanded product range.

[Courtesy of Starbucks Korea]

To meet the newly emerging demand, Starbucks Korea unveiled an exclusive jumbo size Trenta, roughly 887ml, for three specific iced coffee and drinks on July 20.

Korea was the only Asian country where the U.S.-based coffee chain rolled out the new size of beverages.

The drinks available in Trenta were sold in a total of 400,000 cups in just two weeks since the launch. Starbucks Korea on Tuesday expanded the size availability to all types of iced beverages to respond to the strong demand.

“Customers highly prefer iced coffee in bigger sizes, as found in the fact that Cold-Brew beverages account for more than half of Trenta orders, which explains why Starbucks introduced the new size to all iced beverages,” said Lee Myung-hoon, a director of beverage department at Starbucks Korea. “We plan to maintain the availability of the Trenta size until September 30 while reviewing the trajectory of sales and customer feedback.”

The record severe scorching heat wave contributed to the high popularity of bigger-sized iced beverages.

According to EDIYA Coffee, a home-grown coffee shop chain in Korea, the orders of the drinks in the super-size of Extra rose 25 percent between July 26 and August 8 from two weeks ago.

The growing preference for larger capacity has been the case for cup ice at convenience stores, a plastic cup filled with ice into which one would pour coffee or other cold beverage to keep it cold.

Until 2019, regular ice cups (180g) accounted for 60.1 percent of CU sales, surpassing that of big ice cups (230g), which stood at 39.9 percent. However, with the growing number of customers seeking more substantial cup sizes, the sales of venti ice cups (400g) have now outstripped those of regular cup ice for the first time, making up 54 percent of sales in 2021.

The bigger-sized beverages have become a viral phenomenon among young people who like to show off themselves and find fun stuff on social media. For instance, Devil’s Door, a craft beer pub launched by Shinsegae Food Inc., unveiled Evan Williams highball, a super-sized whiskey in 1.75 liter size on August 9.