Starbucks, Dong Suh Celebrate One Billion Sales Milestone in South Korean RTD Coffee Market

Starbucks and its South Korean partner, Dong Suh Co. Ltd., have made a significant breakthrough, reaching one billion sales in their ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee products this year, marking a key milestone in over a decade of successful partnership.

According to The Korea Times, reaching one billion sales is significant for Starbucks and Dong Suh because they have spearheaded the local RTD market together. Before their collaboration, profits for the products were only KRW170 billion or $133 million, and after 17 years, in 2022, the numbers climbed and reached KRW1.45 trillion.

With the impressive results, the executives of Starbucks promised to continue working with Dong Suh and strengthen their partnership. This means they will release more coffee products for the locals to enjoy.

"Any time you hit a billion, this means you reached a critical mass. You have a reason to celebrate," Starbucks Asia Pacific's vice president and general manager of global channel development, David Hanson, said in an interview with The Korea Times. "People have been engaging with you, they are loyal to the brand and you had a long-term future. A billion is something to pause and recognize and think about how you get to 10 billion."

Hanson further shared how the collaboration between Starbucks and Dong Suh started. He said it all began with a simple phone call, and the rest is history.

"The relationship between Starbucks and Dong Suh Foods began with an informal telephone conversation between Starbucks founder Howard Schultz and then Kraft Foods CEO Roger Deromedi," the executive said. "This led executives from both companies to share their vision for the RTD coffee business through the Starbucks coffee brand and to launch the Starbucks RTD coffee business."

Hanson said he believes they were able to sell millions of RTD coffee products as they have met the needs of the locals who want premium coffee. He also suggested that through Dong Suh's outstanding technology, the coffee chain could continuously launch various new products that represent Starbucks' high-quality premium coffee.

Meanwhile, it was in 2005 when Dong Suh first signed an agreement with Starbucks for the production and marketing of coffee drinks in Korea, but it was in 2007 the coffee chain introduced its ready-to-drink line for the first time. At that time, Starbucks and Dong Suh Foods released new products via Starbucks Discoveries and offered just two flavors - Seattle Latte and Milano Espresso.

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