Emart24 to Raise I'm e 500ml Price by 100 Won Next Month
Seven Eleven Also Increased Major Product Prices by 100 Won Earlier This Month
International Coffee Bean Prices Soaring
The international coffee bean prices, the raw material for coffee, have been soaring, and with the high exchange rates continuing, convenience store PB (private brand) coffee, which has been pursuing cost-effectiveness (performance relative to price), has also joined the price hike trend.
According to the industry on the 31st, convenience store Emart24 will raise the price of its PB coffee product 'I'm e (쓴·단·짠·향) Coffee 500ml' from 1,300 won to 1,400 won, a 100 won (7.7%) increase, starting next month on the 1st. I'm e is Emart24's flagship PB brand. The large-capacity PET coffee, launched in October 2019, has sold 15 million bottles in just over four years and is a popular product. This is the first time in about three years that Emart24 has raised the price of its PB PET coffee.
An Emart24 representative explained, "We have kept prices frozen for years in line with the government's price stabilization policy, but due to abnormal weather in major coffee bean producing countries such as Brazil and Vietnam, international coffee bean prices have risen sharply, making it inevitable to raise product prices."
Earlier this month, Seven Eleven also raised the prices of its PB coffee products, including Seven Select, Hello Man, and Henri Matisse cup coffee, by 100 won each. As a result, the price of the five types of Seven Select cup coffee increased from 2,700 won to 2,800 won, a 3.7% rise; Hello Man cup coffee's six types went from 3,000 won to 3,100 won; and Henri Matisse cup coffee's two types rose from 3,200 won to 3,300 won. Seven Eleven stated, "Due to ongoing burdens from raw materials and labor costs, we had no choice but to raise prices."
GS Retail's convenience store GS25 and BGF Retail's CU have not yet planned to raise prices on their PB coffee products, but they may consider price hikes if cost pressures continue.
The convenience store industry, which had engaged in ultra-low price competition centered on PB products since the beginning of the year, is now contemplating price increases for coffee products, a symbol of cost-effectiveness, due to the fluctuating international coffee bean prices.
According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) Food Industry Statistical Information, the average trading price of Arabica coffee on the New York Mercantile Exchange this month was $7,368.9 per ton, a sharp 79% increase compared to the same month last year. The average price of Robusta coffee, often used as raw material for instant or low-cost coffee, also rose 61% to $5,213.5 per ton during the same period.
Starbucks, Paul Bassett, Dongseo Food, and other coffee franchises and manufacturers have already started raising prices on some products. An industry insider said, "We have tried to endure without raising consumer prices by using pre-purchased coffee bean inventory, but the international prices have risen too much, reaching a limit," and predicted, "More companies will raise product prices in a staggered manner."
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