Why did the top coffee mix company launch a rival coffee?

In the 2000s, coffee shops multiplied quickly. Starting with younger people, customers began buying americanos at cafés. Unlike sweet, smooth coffee mix, it is bitter coffee with a strong aroma. Dongsuh Foods, the maker of Maxim, the number one coffee mix, watched people's tastes shift.

KANU came out in October 2011. It is an instant ground-bean coffee that only needs to be stirred into water. The more KANU sold, the less the number one Maxim might sell. Even so, Dongsuh Foods put KANU side by side with Maxim. It made the coffee that would compete with Maxim itself, rather than leaving that to someone else.

Coffee brewed as in a café was freeze-dried, and finely ground beans were added. With just water, it had the bitterness and aroma of a café americano. In just over two weeks after launch, 1.5 million units sold at large supermarkets. By 2020, nearly nine in ten instant ground-bean coffees sold were KANU.

That same year, as working from home grew, Maxim, mixed and drunk at the office, declined, while KANU, drunk café-style at home, grew. Dongsuh Foods said KANU made up for the drop in Maxim sales. In the first half of 2024, nine in ten coffee mixes sold were still from Dongsuh Foods.

Worth adding: the coffee mix market peaked around 2012 and has been shrinking since. KANU came out earlier, in 2011. Dongsuh Foods did not launch KANU after Maxim declined; KANU was already there before the decline began.

When americanos shook Maxim, Dongsuh Foods launched KANU to rival Maxim.
Already number one in coffee mix, Dongsuh Foods became the undisputed number one in instant coffee.