Starbucks today announced the “Halla Mungyeong Sweet Tea”, a local beverage developed by Starbucks Korea in partnership with the Korean Commissions for Corporate Partnership (KCCP) and the National Café Owners Association (NCOA), in support of small business in the coffee industry across South Korea. As a part of the cooperative-coexistence agreement between the three parties, the beverage will be sold exclusively in 100 local coffee shops across South Korea.

Developed using the popular, local flavors of Hallabong and Omija, 'Halla Mungyeong Sweet Tea' is made with fresh, local produce, capturing the spirit of the cooperative partnership with community farmers and small business owners.

In celebration of the launch of the new beverage, a Cooperative Coexistence Beverage Delivery Ceremony was held at the Starbucks Korea Support Center on August 31 and attended by Starbucks Korea ceo, David Song, KCCP Chairman Oh Young-kyo, NCOA Chairman Koh Jang-su, and Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups Cho Ju-hyeon.

"We are truly excited to communicate and collaborate with small business owners through the common medium of beverage and achieve a meaningful outcome of a new cooperative-coexistence beverage,” said David Song, ceo of Starbucks Korea. “Starting with the launch of this new beverage, we will continue to implement similar initiatives to support small business owners in the coffee industry.”

Strengthening communities with opportunities for all

In addition to actively participating in activities to discover, operate, and support similar programs with small local cafés, Starbucks Korea also plans to provide maintenance support of facilities and service education for SMEs which include emergency assistance due to disasters.

With the launch of this new beverage, Starbucks Coffee Korea reinforces its commitment to helping reduce the challenges that small and medium-sized business café owners face, as we continue to strive to strengthen and invest in the well-being of our local communities.