South Korean coffee shops are a hit in China

The coffee culture of South Korea is a sprawling rainbow of opportunity that has an abundance of pop-up cafes and themed outlets. Take the one coffee shop in South Gyeongsang Province, for example. In Ullabong you can get your latte topped off with a foul-mouthed insult emblazoned in foam. The capital city, Seoul, features similarly weird and wonderful premises such as the coffee shop that houses two sheep and the one that doubles up as a sort of legal consolation areas.

If you can think it, it’ll probably be in existence somewhere.

And whilst the domestic scene is thriving – the average Korean consumes coffee more regularly than they do kimchi, the country’s national dish – this veritable boom period has begun to translate to foreign success.

Caffe Bene is perhaps the most well-known: Founded just seven years ago, they now are one of the largest players in the Korean coffee industry. And they’re becoming increasingly successful abroad as their venture into China recorded a whopping 54% increase in sales last year.

The key, many industry analysts believe, is the entertainment industry.

Wan Hui, of Euromonitor, states that the Chinese’s love for Korean pop culture has given Caffe Bene an automatically privileged position when it comes to brand identity – and it will only continue to improve: “Supported by loyal consumers, usually fans of Korean pop culture and TV dramas, Korean-style restaurants and cafes are likely to continue their healthy growth within Chinese consumer foodservice.”

It’s a similar story for Tous Les Jours, who despite their French name, have exploited their Korean roots to great success in China. However Tous Les Jours have gone a step (or two!) further by actually installing life-size images of South Korean celebrities into a number of its stores.

The Chinese just keep lapping it up and lining the pockets of the Korean company.