Sales of instant coffee in South Korea rose on-year in 2012 for the first time in eight years thanks to the high popularity of «sugar and powdered cream-free instant coffee mix» or «ground-coffee mix,» reports Yonhap News Agency.
According to the data by AC Nielsen Korea, a local unit of global marketing researcher AC Nielsen, sales of instant coffee reached 161.6 billion won (US$147.4 million) last year, up 11.6 percent from 144.8 billion won a year ago.
The rise was attributed to an increase in sales of an instant coffee mix with only coffee granules or coffee powder, which has become more and more popular among local consumers, market watchers said.
The local market for the new type of instant coffee mix with only ground coffee has grown at a faster pace since 2010 when Dongsuh Food launched its flagship ground-coffee mix brand «KANU.»
Competition for the local ground-coffee mix market has been stiff as Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., South Korea’s top soft drink maker, and Namyang Dairy Products Co. rolled out their own ground-coffee brands — «Cantata Stick» and «Looka,» respectively, in order to catch up with Dongsuh Food.
Source: globalpost.com/dispatch/taxonomy/term/39093/130313/instant-coffee-sales-increase
