▲ ⓒ Yeonhap News, inside of Blue Bottle Coffee`s first cafe in South Korea

Last Friday, on May 3rd, Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first cafe in South Korea. Many people waited and enjoyed their coffee, and hundreds of people stood in a single line for hours. Blue Bottle Coffee's first day in the Korean marketplace was great. During the opening, Bryan Meehan, CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee, could not hide his joy upon being a success.

However, some people gave a skeptical response about Blue Bottle Coffee's up-market strategy. They offer menus only in English. Using foreign languages can give the consumer an exotic atmosphere, but Blue Bottle Coffee's differentiation is too excessive, so it became a dispute because it can be interpreted wrongly by local people. Also, high-priced coffees became a controversy. In the aggregate, their coffee's price in South Korea is much expensive than that in other countries'. For example, Blue Bottle Coffee's representative menu, "New Orleans", is $4.35 in the USA. However, in South Korea, they sell it for $5. It is hard to understand no matter what they use in making coffee.

▲ Many Twitter users wondered Blue Bottle Coffee`s strategies.

▲ ˝It`s annoying. No Wi-Fi, no Korean. Is it profit to Korean marketplace? Perfect. White supremacy, huh?˝

Furthermore, Blue Bottle Coffee's original business policy polarized people. First of all, they raised questions about Blue Bottle Coffee's motto, "Waiting". It is a kind of trend, giving stability to people who live in a manic-modern society. However, there came a problem on low-rotation of seats. There is also a question about Blue Bottle Coffee's 'no-Wi-Fi" strategy. Blue Bottle Coffee does not offer any Wi-Fi or powerpoint. They just tell their consumers to enjoy their coffee. About this strategy, one Twitter user said that Blue Bottle Coffee's success in South Korea is mostly affected by SNS, but their exclusion of electrical devices is hard to understand. He also said, "It is weird. It seems like they're trying to avoid the responsibility of offering convenience and gaining maximal profits by reducing electric bill. Other cafes offer everything that Blue Bottle Coffee evaded. To me, it sounds like just 'Buzz off! Just drink coffee and get out of here.'"

▲ ⓒ Joseon News, Blue Bottle Coffee`s founder, James Freeman drinks their coffee.

Blue Bottle Coffee's founder, James Freeman said that they anticipated that many people would gather in the first day in South Korea. However, he thinks that it is much more important to see what happens six months later. If they want to be successful in South Korea, they must prepare another solution to lower the dissatisfaction of their costumes.

May 3rd, 2019

by Lee Hyun-seo