Baemin to deliver Starbucks coffee in Korea

Baedal Minjok, or Baemin, a delivery app, said Wednesday it will begin delivering Starbucks coffee and food in Korea from later this month as it strives to strengthen its services.

Starbucks has delivered its coffee, variation beverages and food products to customers through its own app. Baemin will be the first outside app that will deliver them from April 18, Baemin said in a statement.

"The two companies will discuss whether to add tumblers, cups and other Starbucks goods to the delivery list," the statement said.

Deliveries of the Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee's coffee and food have been available in many other countries, a Starbucks spokesperson said.

Baemin, under food delivery app owner Woowa Brothers, accounts for more than 60 percent of the country's food delivery app market, with the remainder shared by GS Retail's Yogiyo app and Coupang Eats, the food delivery arm of e-commerce leader Coupang.

Korea is one of the world's biggest food delivery markets, backed by its high smartphone penetration and dense population.

In December 2019, German online food delivery service Delivery Hero acquired Woowa Brothers for $4 billion. The German company currently owns a 99.07 percent stake in Woowa Brothers. (Yonhap)