CJ divests Chinese subsidiary in bid to ramp up K-food push

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang said Monday it sold its entire stake in Jixiangju Food, one of its biggest Chinese subsidiaries that sold Chinese food in China, in a bid to focus on its global strategy to primarily sell Korean food products, centering on its Bibigo brand. According to CJ CheilJedang, the company sold its 60 percent stake in Jixiangju Food for 300 billion won ($235 million) to multiple Chinese institutional investors and the second-largest stakeholder of Jixiangju Food, wh

July 31, 2023

Milk companies mull price hikes

Korean milk companies said Friday they are reviewing plans to increase the prices of their products, following the Korea Dairy Committee's recent decision to raise the price of raw milk by the largest rate in ten years. "We are going over plans to raise the price of our fresh milk products, as the price of raw milk outweighs all other factors that help determine the price of the end product, including pasteurization, labor and distribution costs and such," said an official from a

July 28, 2023

Starbucks, Blackpink collaboration to hit 9 Asian countries

Starbucks is collaborating with the world's biggest girl group Blackpink this summer. Starbucks Korea on Thursday announced that the brand has teamed up with Blackpink to release limited edition merchandise, beverage and food items this summer. The latest collaboration project will be launched in the Asia-Pacific region, with the drinks and merchandise items available in nine regions in Asia, including South Korea and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, bakery menu items will only be sold in South Korea.

July 20, 2023

[Photo News] Jumbo size at Starbucks

A Starbucks employee hands a customer a Trenta-sized drink, with nearly a liter of beverage, at a Starbucks outlet in Seoul, Wednesday. Starbucks Korea said it will start sales of the jumbo-sized beverages on its popular summer menu from Thursday. The promotion, initiated in the Asian market for the first time in commemoration of Starbucks Korea's 24th anniversary, will be for takeout drinks only, through Sept. 30.

July 19, 2023

Human-free retail is not risk-free

At first glance, South Korea appears to have the right mix for an unmanned retail revolution. The country is known for its swift embrace of technology, widespread adoption of cashless payments, well-developed urban centers and relatively low crime rate. But owners of unmanned shops here say that running an automated store is not as glamorous as it may seem. While the cost and hassle of hiring and retaining human staff are eliminated, new issues arise, ranging from littering and shoplifting, to d

July 18, 2023

Monsoon rain ravages farms, kills livestock

Nearly 30,000 hectares of farmland across the country were damaged by the recent torrential rain, raising concerns that agricultural product prices -- which have recently soared due to a heat wave -- will consequently rise even more. Some 27,094 ha of farmland have been damaged between July 10 and Monday due to record rainfall, according to a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. By region, North Jeolla Province suffered the most damage, with 14,569 ha of land f

July 17, 2023

Korea to stick to previous aspartame regulation, as WHO states limited carcinogenicity

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Friday it has decided to allow companies here to retain their existing internal standards for the use of aspartame in foods and beverages, despite the assessment of a WHO agency concluding that the artificial sweetener is "possibly carcinogenic to humans." The International Agency for Research on Cancer announced Friday it has determined aspartame should be reclassified as a Group 2B carcinogen on the basis of limited cancer in

July 14, 2023

Hackers steal W8m from Starbucks app

The official Starbucks Korea mobile application was hacked on Monday, resulting in the theft of approximately 8 million won ($6,300) from the in-app cards of some 90 customers. A recent post from someone on an online forum alleged that unauthorized payments worth a total of 2.8 million won were made in one day via their Starbucks app in 11 separate transactions, both online and in-store. "A payment of 300,000 won was made online from my account linked to the Starbucks app, then an additiona

July 14, 2023

Geraldine Guyot-Arnault, Lee Boo-jin spotted mingling at Seoul launch party

Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin, the elder sister of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, was spotted meeting with Geraldine Guyot-Arnault, co-founder of French fashion label Destree, in Seoul, Wednesday. Guyot-Arnault, the third daughter-in-law of Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury conglomerate LVMH Group, was photographed with Lee at her brand’s launch party. The party was held to celebrate a pop-up store at a Hyundai Department Store branch in southern Seoul, according to her Instagr

July 13, 2023

Nongshim sets vision to achieve $1.5b in sales by 2030

In celebration of his second year in office, Shin Dong-won, chairperson of Korean food giant Nongshim, on Thursday unveiled a vision to post $1.5 billion in global sales by 2030 and become the No. 1 ramen seller in the US amid its soaring performance there. According to the company, Nongshim's plan, which is to triple its annual sales by 2030 from its current $490 million, mainly centers on scaling up its US business. For the achievement of its goal, Shin said Nongshim will review plans to

July 13, 2023

Starbucks to roll out 'trenta' size drinks in Korea

Starbucks Korea will release a limited edition of three popular beverages in a size called "trenta" that is almost 1 liter starting from July 20 to Sept. 30, to commemorate its 24th anniversary of opening in the country. The trenta size will be available as to-go only at select locations, and offered as an option for three popular Starbucks beverages: Cold Brew, Iced Grapefruit Honey Black Tea, and Strawberry Acai Starbucks Refreshers Beverage. The trenta size is currently only availab

July 12, 2023

Pressure mounts on milk producers to cut prices

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs recently met with South Korean dairy companies in a bid to increase the pressure on them to minimize price hikes for milk, according to Food Ministry Wednesday. According to a Food Ministry spokesperson, the Food Ministry asked Korean dairy companies during a closed-door meeting to minimize price hikes for milk that are expected to take place amid a forthcoming surge in the price of raw milk. Currently, Korea Dairy Committee, a private organiza

July 12, 2023

Bacardi Korea teams up with Daytona Entertainment for summer campaign

Bacardi Korea, the leading rum brand in South Korea, will be launching its "Do What Moves You" (DWMY) campaign in collaboration with artists Toil and Skinny Brown from record label Daytona Entertainment. Marking the third DWMY campaign in Korea, this year’s campaign is targeted at the younger MZ audience -- an acronym for millennial and Generation Z -- who strive to express themselves confidently and unapologetically without being swayed by others' opinions. The campaign wil

July 12, 2023

NHN Commerce acquires Italian luxury fashion retailer

NHN Commerce, the retail unit of South Korean information technology company NHN Corp., said Tuesday it acquired a controlling stake in Italian luxury fashion brand retailer Ikonic, in a bid to further extend its reach into the global stage. NHN Commerce now holds a 77.8 percent stake in Ikonic -- an Italian multi-brand fashion platform retailing over 250 brands in the global market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ikonic's annual sales stands at some 100 billion won ($77 million) in

July 11, 2023

Bottled water prices hit 11-year high

South Korea's price growth rate for bottled water recorded its highest level in 11 years following a series of price hikes in the industry, according to data Monday. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index of bottled water stood at 112.09, a 10.8 percent on-month increase. The nation's growth in the CPI of bottled water recorded its highest rate since June 2012, when it rose by 11.6 percent. The price rise comes as the nation's biggest bottled water manufacturers h

July 10, 2023

Jinro named 2023 Supreme Brand Champion by British spirits publication

Jinro, one of the most popular Korean soju brands, has been named this year's Supreme Brand Champion by a British magazine, Jinro's maker said Thursday. Jinro won the accolade in the annual report issued by The Spirits Business, according to HiteJinro Co. This is the first time Jinro has won the supreme title. Jinro was named the local spirits brand champion in 2018 and 2021. Jinro brand includes plain soju products -- Chamisul and Jinro -- as well as flavored soju products. HiteJinro

July 6, 2023

Marking 35th birthday, McDonald's Korea unveils new menu, outlet expansion

McDonald's Korea on Wednesday unveiled its vision to operate a total of 500 McDonald's outlets in the country by 2030 and release an exclusive menu in the Korean market, in celebration of its 35th anniversary. "During the first half of this year, the (firm's) sales rose about 10 percent on-year to some 623 billion won ($479 million), logging its largest (semi-annual) sales since the brand's entry into Korea," McDonald's Korea CEO Kim Ki-won said during a press

July 5, 2023

Five Guys sells 15,000 burgers in 1st week in Seoul

South Korea’s first Five Guys burger restaurant located in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, sold around 15,000 burgers during its first week, according to FG Korea, a food subsidiary of Hanwha Galleria, Tuesday. On average, Five Guys sold more than 2,000 burgers a day and up to 200 burgers an hour. Customers from various regions across Korea came to eat at Five Guys, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, Daegu and Busan, the company said. There were even some that flew to Korea from Japan, which

July 4, 2023

Korea's ramen exports hit record high amid K-ramen boom

South Korea posted its highest-ever semi-annual ramen exports figure amid the increased global demand for Korean instant noodle products, data found Tuesday. According to the data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation, a quasi-government agency, Korean ramen exports were tentatively tallied at $446.2 million, as of June. The number recorded a 16.4 percent jump from the previous record high of $383.2 million, logged in the first half of 2022. Korea's semi-annual ramen expo

July 4, 2023

[Photo News] Starbucks pumpkin latte for shared growth

Starbucks Korea said Tuesday that its third drink developed with the Korean Commission for Corporate Partnership and the national cooperative association of cafe owners, named the Okcheon Sweet Pumpkin Latte, will go on sale at 150 cafes owned by small business owners across the nation. The drink is the specialty coffee chain’s third attempt at launching unique beverage recipes using locally sourced ingredients in a bid to ramp up its contribution to the local economy.

July 4, 2023