Korean Job Discussion Forums

[beison]

Hey fellow forum members, I thought I might run something by you all to gauge interest in a potential business idea.

The fiance's family has a coffee shop where they roast their own beans. Their coffee is quite good and I thought I'd try to market it online as packaged coffee in ground and whole bean format, specifically targeting the English population living in Korea.
There's virtually no investment needed on my end, since they already have all the supplies in their coffee shop. I've checked the internet and seems like there are no easy ways to buy roast coffee online in Korea in an English friendly format.
My question for you all is, do you think there is potential for any significant sales with this idea?

[Underwaterbob]

Coffee shops where you can easily buy fresh roasted beans are everywhere in Korea. Absolutely everywhere. Like, fourteen-of-them-per-block everywhere.

Good luck!

[son of coco]

[tophatcat]

[wishfullthinkng]

not to rain on the op's parade, but i too have a plethora of coffee shops near my home that do indeed roast their beans in-house and are quite good.

[furtakk]

They are everywhere is relative. If you live in Gyeongridan or Hongdae, then yea, they are everywhere. However, if you live in wherever-eup, Jeollanamdo, then no they are not everywhere.

As for the OP, I don't know how much interest there would be. I feel like casual coffee drinkers don't care. They are probably fine with whatever pre-ground stuff they can find at Homeplus or Emart. The type of people who would actually seek out a place to buy freshly roasted beans have probably worked out a way to do so in Korean.

Still, doesn't hurt to try.

[Lucas]

The best business model is one where you take an existing product, tweak it and market it in the correct way.

I loved this coffee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak when I was in Vietnam, why not try it 'Korean style,' have some ajummas' eat a load of coffee beans, crap them out and roast them afterwards.

I think this product would be hugely successful and there is a glut of ajummas' out there willing to help you out.

You could start off paying the w5,000 an hour so your startup costs would be low!

You could have a label of each one on the back of the coffee telling the buyer a little about each of their life histories.

[young_clinton]

How about a used clothing store catering to expats? Since you wouldn't get used stuff in Korea you would have to ship clothes in land containers from your home country. It would take some doing and time, but might catch on.

[beison]

[wishfullthinkng]

[cdninkorea]

I used to buy whole beans from a coffee shop near my workplace that roasts their own beans, but I stopped because of the expense. Everywhere, it seems, charges around 7,000/100g (I go through about 40g/day). The stuff they sell at Costco isn't nearly as fresh, but it's not bad, and it's 20,000/900g.

My point in saying all this: I would love to buy really fresh coffee, but the price would have to be something reasonable.

[coralreefer_1]

Since you are considering targeting the foreigner market, I would ask you to consider the following.

Nearly everyone will say they love coffee. Of those, how many are willing to purchase grinders and some sort of brewing apparatus to enjoy rich flavorful coffee? You limit yourself by targeting the "expat" population, and just based on my experience, many of those are not the type that would even appreciate good coffee, much less take the time to make it when they can get it on the go with much less hassle from davinci or some other chain.

Since there is little investment needed on your part (little risk) I would say go for it, but dont expect significant sales with the limited expat market.

[Lazio]

[Troglodyte]

I don't know if you'd get rich with this business idea, but since you'd simply be marketing the product and have almost no investment to make, it's probably worth a try.

[Underwaterbob]