Niche market of coffee lover in Korea

South Korea’s cafe market is notoriously crowded pushing some large players to the brink and suffering from price attacks from convenience store operators. Yet niche is still a nice place to be, judging by the experiences of a small Seoul startup.

Two young entrepreneurs have shared their vision of launching a coffee franchise called That Coffee Roasters.

Co-CEOs Chin Kyo-hwa and Lee Chang-hoon reported that redecorating their first coffee shop to appeal more to female customers was key to their initial success.

According to Chin, low early revenues escalated after the change.

“It took more than three years for our coffee shop to gain popularity,” he said. “The store’s monthly sales more than doubled in the past two months on the back of word-of-mouth online and the new interior design.

“The store is tiny and small, but we hope to launch at least three more stores in less than five years in Seoul.”

Chin and Lee also run a roastery factory in Guro, Seoul for direct sale to clients. While the business currently serves a small client base, the pair are already planning to expand operations as the company gains more traction.