Korea's coffee brand Ediya to open 1st overseas branch in Guam

Ediya Coffee, South Korea's home-grown low-priced coffee brand, will open a branch in Guam in the first half of this year to seek growth through expansion in overseas markets and distribution sectors.

"This year will be marked as the first year of our full-fledged overseas expansion. We will open our first overseas location in Guam, and promote the Ediya coffee brand abroad," Ediya Coffee Chairman Moon Chang-ki said in his New Year's address on Tuesday.

The company hopes the Guam store will serve as a stepping stone to entering the US market, where it has recently started selling its instant coffee products.

Ediya will focus on improving brand value and helping increase franchise sales through distribution business and overseas expansion, which are future growth engines, Moon said.

Moon pledged to develop new products, diversify menus into beverage and bakery items, and renew products while investing more in IT infrastructure for franchise stores.

In particular, he called for employees and franchisees to make all-out efforts to successfully settle the "New Americano" offering and revitalize franchise sales.

New Americano is Ediya's new coffee menu introduced on Dec. 22 last year, and features a deeper and stronger coffee taste with an additional espresso shot, providing a larger amount at the same price as before. 

"To satisfy customers and help our stores improve their competitiveness and profits, we need to focus our company-wide capabilities from the perspective of franchise operators and customers," Moon said.

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com