The company said the beverages have played a role in helping promote the high quality of local agricultural products.
Among others, sales of Icheon new rice latte and Icheon new rice frappuccino, which were introduced on Jan. 1, have reached more than 600,000 cups in three weeks.
Icheon in Gyeonggi Province is 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Before this, Starbucks Korea released its Mungyeong omija fizzio, a "five-flavor" berry soda drink, and Gongju chestnut latte.
Mungyeong is in North Gyeongsang Province, while Gongju is in South Chungcheong Province.
The company said it tried to maximize the taste and nutrition of rice harvested in Icheon when developing Icheon new rice latte and Icheon new rice frappuccino, which have been well received by customers.
By reflecting the names of regions in the names of beverages, the company has helped improve the brand image of a specialty of the Icheon region.
The firm said sales of Icheon new rice beverages from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. have accounted for more than 40 percent of the total, noting that an increasing number of people appear to drink the beverages as a breakfast substitute.
"We believe many people start the morning drinking Icheon new rice beverages," said Hong Chang-hyun, who led the Icheon new rice beverages development team at Starbucks Korea. "The beverages provide people with an opportunity to appreciate Korean rice."
The company said 16 tons of Icheon rice has been used to make the beverage so far.
According to data issued by Statistics Korea last year, percapita annual consumption of rice stood at 61.8 kilograms in 2017, reaching an all-time low. The firm said its new beverages show the potential for change in the downward rice consumption trend.
Starbucks Korea formed a partnership with farms in Icheon on Dec. 27 in a bid to help promote rice consumption. Under the partnership, the company delivered compost made of coffee grounds worth 90 million won ($80,000) to the farms.
"We will continue working to explore ways of growing together with local farmhouses by developing beverages utilizing regional specialties," said Park Hyun-sook who heads the category beverage team at Starbucks Korea.
Credit to: KoreaTime
