SEOUL, May 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s imports of bananas and pineapples hit unprecedented highs in April, according to trade statistics released by the Korea Customs Service. The import value of bananas reached $46.3 million last month, a staggering 58.5% increase compared to the same period last year, setting an all-time record. This figure slightly [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) –As health-conscious consumers grow in numbers, zero-calorie drinks have surpassed 50 percent of carbonated beverage sales at convenience stores in South Korea. GS25, a major convenience store chain, announced on May 21 that from January to April of this year, zero-calorie drinks accounted for 52.3 percent of its total carbonated [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) – The competition among South Korea’s major food delivery apps — Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo — to poach customers from one another is intensifying into a bruising battle. The clash among the three services erupted last year over discounts on delivery fees. After a brief lull, their rivalry reignited [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) – E-Mart24, a leading convenience store chain in South Korea, announced on May 19 that all 30,000 units of its highly anticipated Bitcoin Lunchboxes, launched as part of a promotion in collaboration with the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb on May 8, had sold out amid overwhelming customer demand. Priced at 5,500 won, [...]
SEOUL, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) – A young American girl’s emotional unboxing of a birthday gift containing Samyang Foods’ wildly popular Buldak Carbonara Ramen went viral last month, amassing over 100 million views across social media platforms like TikTok. After momentarily losing her words upon revealing the pink packaging of the spicy South Korean instant noodles, [...]
SEOUL, May 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Nongshim Co., South Korea’s leading instant noodle maker, said Tuesday it is considering building a new domestic plant for exports only amid growing overseas demand for Korean instant noodles, called ramyeon. Nongshim is in consideration to build the exports-only plant in the southeastern port city of Busan or Pyeongtaek, [...]
SEOUL, May 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Coupang Eats, the food delivery service from the e-commerce giant Coupang, has significantly extended its lead over its rival Yogiyo in terms of monthly active users, according to data from WiseApp, a mobile app analysis service. In April, Coupang Eats had 6.97 million active users, surpassing Yogiyo’s 5.76 million by [...]
SEOUL, May 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Starbucks Korea announced on May 7 that the cumulative number of customers using personal reusable cups at its domestic stores reached the 150 million milestone last month. The use of reusable cups saw a sharp rise, skyrocketing from 9.39 million instances in 2018 to 29.35 million last year. In the [...]
SEOUL, May 7 (Korea Bizwire) – With the major food delivery apps in South Korea waging a “free delivery” war to lure customers, some franchise owners and restaurants have sparked controversies by charging higher prices for delivery orders compared to dine-in meals, citing the burden of the apps’ commission fees. On May 5, industry officials said [...]
SEOUL, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) – For those sensitive to caffeine or seeking to enjoy coffee without its stimulant effects, Starbucks in South Korea offers a decaffeinated option – one out of every 11 Americanos sold is now a decaf version. Starbucks announced on May 1 that the cumulative sales of decaffeinated coffee in South Korea [...]