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Milestone Beverages accelerates in Korea
Milestone Beverages celebrates the success of the Korean arm of its business after growing from US$200,000 per annum in 2020 to over $1 million to date.
Milestone Beverages has focused its attentions aggressively on Korea since early 2020 when it appointed seven new distribution partners in the country.
The company faced challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, as key customers across Asia were unable to supply their own customers due to lockdowns and restrictions. In response, Milestone Beverages turned its sites on Korea, a market still functioning during this time.
Targeting younger millennial consumers and high-volume retail with value driven scalable favourites, Milestone Beverages continues to drive new brands into the Korean market with the partnership of importers in the country including Hite Jinro, Liqour pot, Indulge and Fun Drinks.
The company saw over 150% year-on-year growth from 2020-2022, making Korea Milestone’s top market by revenue.
Milestone now expects Korea to be the second market after Hong Kong, where the company is based, to represent all of the key brands in its portfolio.
The company has also shifted its focus in terms of products. Business was originally focused on sparkling Italian wine and entry-level Californian wine but has diversified to American Spirits and Napa Valley.
The traditional appetite for Californian red wine, sweet white wines, Bourbon and whisky continue in the country, and Milestone’s own brands and partner brands have all found places on the shelves of big box retailers like Emart, Lottemart and convenience stores such as GS24, and CU Yongbin.
Joe Milner, managing director for Milestone Beverages, said of the company’s growth in Korea: “Within the Wines and spirits categories, it feels Korea is the most attractive market in Asia Pacific and we continue to invest with our partners in the market to continue to drive tremendous growth.”
The company plans to extend its distribution to add to its current list of seven importers in Korea.