New products featuring pineapple are gaining popularity in the summer beverage market, long dominated by watermelon and mango, emerging as a new trend. Previously used only as a secondary ingredient in some menu items, pineapple is now establishing itself as a strategic summer-season menu offering.
According to Starbucks Korea on the 12th, its new product "Pineapple Blue Coco Frappuccino," launched late last month, rose to second place in Frappuccino category sales within a week of its release, following the "Grapefruit Mango Coco Frappuccino." The drink, which combines pineapple and coconut, features a blue gradient visual and is spreading quickly by word of mouth, with reactions on social media saying it evokes a summer sea.
Behind pineapple's rise as a new summer beverage ingredient is a steadily expanding global market and a solid domestic consumption base. Market research firm Mordor Intelligence forecast that the global pineapple market will grow from $13.2 billion last year to $13.8 billion this year. The compound annual growth rate through 2031 is expected to reach 4.1%.
According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, pineapple imports last year totaled 67,030 tons, the third-largest after bananas (360,823 tons) and oranges (97,431 tons). The quota tariff on pineapples, mangoes and bananas, which had been set to expire at the end of this month, was extended until the 15th of next month, which is expected to help ease the burden of raw material prices.
Meanwhile, menu items using watermelon and mango are also posting steady sales. Ediya Coffee's "Fresh Watermelon Juice" sells an average of more than 25,000 cups a day, and this year it moved up its launch date compared with previous years. Starbucks' "Watermelon Juice Blended," relaunched after three years, ranked first in blended beverage category sales last month. Twosome Place is also strengthening its mango lineup with products such as "Apple Mango Juice" and "Apple Mango Bingsu."
The industry expects competition over seasonal menus using summer's representative fruits to intensify further. "As competition among coffee companies intensifies, summer-season beverages are a key variable that determines sales," an industry official said. "As menus adding new flavors and visuals win consumers' choices, competition in summer-season beverages is expected to become more diverse."
