With Me stores roll out 500-won coffee

With Me, Shinsegae Group‘s convenience store chain, has rolled out a new line of coffee priced at 500 won (43 cents) per cup, the cheapest takeout coffee ever, the company said Monday.

Labeled “Take 1,” the line is the latest development in the fierce competition over low-cost takeout coffee among convenience store chains in Korea.

The three major convenience store chains in Korea -- CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven -- all offer takeout coffee priced between 1,000 and 1,200 won per cup. This is roughly one-third the price of coffee at most branded coffee franchises in Korea.

According to With Me, the low price of the Take 1 drip coffee was made possible by using beans from Cerrado, Brazil, which are imported by affiliate discount retailer Emart and sold under its Peacock brand.

Take 1 coffee will be available at 100 With Me branches in the initial release. Its sales will be expanded to additional branches in the future, With Me said.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)