Binggrae “sizes up” coffee brand to boost sales

Binggrae, a South Korean food and beverage company, said Wednesday that it had introduced “sized-up” versions of its popular coffee drinks to boost sales and exports.

The A Cafe la brand drink, called Size Up and available in flavors Americano, sweet Americano, cafe latte and vanilla latte, is 350 milliliters “to offer good taste with better affordability.”

The Americano drinks contain coffee beans from Brazil and the latte drinks contain coffee beans from Colombia, according to the company, which credited an advertising campaign featuring K-pop group SF9’s member Rowoon with a recent increase in sales.

The coffee beverage market has been growing rapidly in recent years, having increased more than 20 percent per year since the mid-2000s.

Binggrae has been investing in the development of new ready-to-drink coffee products since 2007, focusing on package design and flavor to differentiate its products from those of rivals -- for example, it uses PET materials sterilized with the Asepsys method.

A Cafe la brought in some 31 billion won ($28 million) in sales last year.

Binggrae, established in 1967, produces a number of Korea’s signature snacks and drinks, including Banana Flavored Milk, Melona, Together and Yoplait.

The company began exporting its products to the US and Russia in 1993 before expanding its reach to include North and South America and Southeast Asia. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)