With autumn approaching rapidly, major cafe menus are featuring seasonal core items such as chestnuts and sweet potatoes tailored for the fall season. This strategy aims to target consumers who wish to enjoy autumn lightly in their daily lives by combining seasonal ingredients with lattes, cakes, and other products.
According to industry sources on the 13th, Starbucks Korea will launch 'Castella Sweet Potato Latte' on the 15th. The drink mixes milk into a sauce made from Wuan county sweet potatoes to create a sweet and savory flavor, then tops it with castella powder and pearls. According to the company, the familiar taste of sweet potatoes blends with fluffy castella and chewy pearls, allowing customers to enjoy different textures while drinking. It is an autumn beverage that can be enjoyed without worry as it contains no caffeine.
The Marron Mont Blanc Cheesecake features domestically grown chestnuts. This menu layers sweet Mont Blanc cream over a rich-flavored cheesecake and is sold exclusively during the fall season. Additionally, the whole cake 'Boni Chestnut Mont Blanc Cheesecake' is a celebratory whole cake topped with mascarpone cream, Mont Blanc cream, and domestic Boni chestnuts on top of a cheesecake filled with chestnuts. The product will be available for reservation via the Starbucks app starting from the 21st of this month.
Two Seasons Place has already been selling two new fresh cream cake products featuring chestnuts and sweet potatoes since last month. 'Moist Chestnut Fresh Cream Cake' is a product that places chestnut mascarpone fresh cream between chocolate sheets, then adds whole chestnuts and marron spread. It highlights the taste of biting into chestnuts through soft cream.
Additionally, 'Soft Sweet Potato Fresh Cream Cake' includes sweet potato cream between the sheets and tops it with fresh cream and castella powder to add a fluffy texture. If a whole cake feels too much, customers can choose the petite size that retains the same design. Both products are also available in sizes suitable for one or two people to enjoy.
Alongside seasonal desserts, competition for autumn lattes is heating up. MegagMGC Coffee's 'House Milk Latte' and 'Decaf Orzo Latte', introduced on the 3rd, sold approximately 390,000 and 110,000 cups respectively by the 9th, just one week after launch. According to MegagMGC Coffee, this result followed positive reviews posted on social media and online communities that led to store visits and app orders. In particular, the Orzo Latte recorded sales more than three times higher than existing decaf lattes.
The reason the cafe industry is bringing out autumn ingredients lies in 'seasonal core'. This refers to consumer trends of seeking foods that match the season, enjoying them, and sharing the experience on social media. In summer, peaches and sugar corn take center stage; in autumn, figs, chestnuts, and sweet potatoes become the stars. For consumers, it is a way to enjoy the seasons subtly in daily life, while for the industry, it presents an opportunity to introduce familiar ingredients as new menus. Starbucks plans to add another new menu that highlights the natural taste of seasonal sweet potatoes later this month.
A Starbucks representative stated, "To allow customers who enjoy seasonal core to experience the charm of familiar ingredients like sweet potatoes and chestnuts in a unique way, we are introducing new menus." They added, "We expect these items to attract attention primarily among the MZ generation, who actively engage with seasonal core through platforms like social media."
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