Why Starbucks chose Korea for Aerocano launch

Starbucks Korea’s new Aerocano iced coffee, hitting stores nationwide Thursday for the first time in the world, is more than just another menu addition. It marks the company’s introduction of a new coffee category alongside the iced Americano and cold brew. The drink is also expected to reinforce Koreans’ enduring preference for iced beverages — even in the winter — reflected by the newly coined slang term “eoljukah,” referring to those who stick to cold coffee year-round. The trend is so widespread in Korea that it drew attention from the global coffee chain’s headquarters in Seattle. As the first new iced black coffee option launched since Starbucks introduced the cold brew in the United States in 2015 — and in other markets the following year — Aerocano represents the company’s next bold move. The location for its launch, according to Starbucks Asia Pacific Senior Product Manager Aleksandra Orsolic, became an obvious choice. “When we were deciding where to first launch this new innovation, the decision came to us quite easily,” Orsolic said at Starbucks Kore