By Lee Ji-yoon
Caff Bene, a Korean coffee house chain, received the best reviews in a recent consumer survey, while other local coffee retailers also scored high compared to international rivals.
Korea Consumer Agency and KAIST Center for Fair Trade and Consumer Protection announced Wednesday the result of a recent survey on 1,020 consumers who have visited six coffee retailers here.
Caff Bene earned 5.32 points out of the total seven in terms of overall ambiance, the highest followed by Angel-In-Us with 5.08 and Starbucks with 5.03, the consumer protection agency said.
When it comes to flavor of coffee and other side menus, Coffee Bean scored the highest with 5.03. But the difference was insignificant among the rivals ― Tom N Toms with 4.99, Starbucks with 4.96 and Caff Bene with 4.95.
Caff Bene, established in 2008, said its strategy selling not just coffee but also the whole space where coffee is enjoyed has successfully appealed to local consumers.
“Along with coffee flavor, which is the most basic thing, we aim to satisfy our customers with comfortable, specially-designed cultural spaces,” Kim Dong-han, the company’s spokesperson said.
The coffee chain has recently become a market leader with more than 660 stores, beating the U.S-based rival Starbucks, which opened its 400th store here in June.
Local brand names scored highly in other evaluation categories, reflecting their widespread presence in the domestic market.
Hollys and Angel-In-Us received the highest points on consumer benefits, while Caff Bene and Hollys scored well for the convenience of location.
Starbucks and Hollys scored the same when it comes to customer service. When it came to menu variety, Caff Bene, Tom N Toms and Starbucks all got positive reviews.
In terms of consumer royalties, Hollys scored highest with 5.43, followed by Tom N Toms and Caff Bene with 5.39 and Starbucks with 5.36.
“Unlike our global rivals who stick to the concept built in the United States, Korean brands are targeting the very demand of local consumers. For instance, Korean retailers place wider chairs in stores compared to other global brands,” Kim said.
Kim said such Korean-style strategy is shifting the attitude of Korean consumers about local coffee house brands.
The nation’s take-out coffee market has been fast-growing, with its current volume estimated to stand at 1.3 trillion won. There are already more than 2,500 stores owned by the top 10 coffee house chains nationwide.
Last year, Koreans drank 22.8 billion cups of coffee in total, which means 452 cups of coffee per person.
(jylee@heraldcorp.com)