Ediya Coffee operates more than 4,000 outlets across South Korea | Photo credit: via Shutterstock

South Korea’s largest coffee chain Ediya Coffee has revealed actor Byeon Woo-seok as its first Brand Ambassador. 
 

Formerly a model, Byeon made his acting debut on South Korean series Dear My Friends in 2016 before gaining global fame for his role in the K-drama Lovely Runner, which premiered in April 2024. 

Ediya Coffee, which has more than 4,000 outlets across South Korea, will feature Byeon on its menus, in-store displays and digital marketing. He will also star in a TV commercial for the coffee chain scheduled to be broadcast in late October 2024. 

“In order to convey the sincerity of Ediya Coffee to consumers more effectively, we have selected actor Byeon Woo-seok as our first brand model. We are planning to carry out various marketing activities to become a brand with a new and fresh image,” an Ediya Coffee spokesperson said. 

Read related content: Why is Korea so obsessed with coffee? 

The appointment comes just a month after Byeon was announced as a Brand Ambassador for ice-cream parlour chain Baskin Robbins, which is operated in South Korea by food and beverage giant SPC Group. Alongside appearing on Baskin Robbin’s social media channels, Byeon has also been named as the brand’s Honorary Researcher, which will see him co-develop an ice-cream flavour of the month. 

Celebrity endorsements are extremely lucrative and can enable branded coffee chains to reach new audiences and develop customer engagement. In South Korea, operators are increasingly seeking to maximise the commercial opportunities afforded by the soaring popularity of Korean pop music, fashion, television and film. 

In June 2023, actress Kim Go Eun was unveiled as Nespresso Korea’s first Brand Ambassador, featuring in an advertisement with US celebrities George Clooney and Julia Garner to promote the coffee pod giant’s summer range. The following month, US coffee chain Starbucks collaborated with K-pop group Blackpink on a themed Frappuccino and limited-edition merchandise range across nine Asia Pacific markets that reportedly sold out within three hours of launching online. 

Meanwhile, fast-growing Compose Coffee unveiled South Korean singer Kim Taehyung, known professionally as V, as a Brand Ambassador in December 2023 and, in September 2024, cited the collaboration as driving an additional five million app subscribers to its loyalty scheme this year.