Starbucks Korea, the No. 1 coffee shop in Korea, will join the boycott of Japanese products amid a growing campaign to oust Japanese products due to the recent controversial comments on trade row by DHC, following the withdrawal of Japanese beer from convenience stores.
Starbucks Korea said on Aug. 13 that it has not placed additional orders for products such as "Starbucks Origami Veranda Blend" and "Via Matcha," which it has imported in the form of finished products from Japan.
"We are considering reducing or temporarily suspending orders for Origami and Via Matcha, global line-up products which are imported in the form of products from Japan," Starbucks told Yonhap News on Aug. 13. "We are not placing any additional orders at this time."
Starbucks Origami Series is an extractive coffee product made for drinking hot water. Via Matcha is a parcel-decorated product that makes it easy to make and eat "green tea latte" at home.
A Starbucks official, meanwhile, said that while origami products are made in Japan, key raw materials such as coffee beans are produced in third countries, and that the products are produced in areas unrelated to Fukushima and its neighboring 13 prefectures, which are also in question, and that the products have been thoroughly tested for production locations and radioactivity.
"We are not using any raw materials from Japan for manufactured beverages other than finished products," he said. "We are increasing our own development by making efforts to localize materials with domestic partners."
Starbucks introduced that raw materials for green tea manufacturing and green tea bags have been locally made in Jeju since 2013.
