Starbucks Surpasses 100 Million Decaf Coffee Cups Sold... "Buy One Get One Free from 2 PM"

May 3-8 After 2 PM
Buy 1 Get 1 Free on Decaffeinated Coffee Orders
Decaffeinated Coffee Sales Triple in 5 Years

Starbucks Korea announced on the 2nd that its cumulative sales of decaffeinated coffee have surpassed 100 million cups. To celebrate this milestone, Starbucks is holding a buy-one-get-one-free event on decaffeinated coffee.

Since introducing decaffeinated coffee in August 2017, Starbucks Korea exceeded 10 million cups in cumulative sales by the following year, 2018. In 2022, annual sales surpassed 20 million cups, showing continuous growth, and as of last month, six years and nine months after its introduction, cumulative sales reached 100 million cups. Annual sales have steadily increased from 6 million cups in 2018 to 21.1 million cups in 2023, more than doubling.

Starbucks attributes the popularity of its decaffeinated lineup to a differentiated technology that perfectly preserves the original taste and aroma of coffee. Since its launch, Starbucks has used a ‘Natural Decaffeination (Supercritical CO2)’ process that removes caffeine from green coffee beans using only CO2 and steam, without any chemical products.

Changes in lifestyle habits are also considered a factor in its popularity. Amid the ongoing ‘Healthy Pleasure’ trend, people who want to enjoy coffee without caffeine concerns even late in the afternoon are choosing decaffeinated coffee. In fact, an analysis of the hourly sales of Americanos sold last month at Starbucks showed that 51% of decaffeinated Americano sales occurred after 2 p.m., which is 16 percentage points higher than regular Americano sales at 35%.

From the 3rd to the 8th, for six days, customers visiting stores after 2 p.m. who order eligible decaffeinated or 1/2 decaffeinated beverages through the POS will receive one additional beverage of the same size for free. The eligible beverages include five types: Caff? Americano, Caff? Latte, Flat White, Caramel Macchiato, and Starbucks Dolce Latte.

Currently, the decaffeinated coffee options available at Starbucks include five types: ‘Caff? Americano,’ ‘Flat White,’ ‘Caff? Latte,’ ‘Caramel Macchiato,’ and ‘Starbucks Dolce Latte.’ Other menu items can also be customized to decaffeinated through personal options according to preference. Additionally, Starbucks operates a ‘1/2 Decaffein’ lineup that reduces caffeine content by half.