Leading a Multi-Entity Specialty Coffee Business in Korea - MTS SOLUTIONS
The Business
MTS Solutions is the Korean parent company I established in 2022, operating a roasting factory in Incheon and running multiple business lines: MTSPACE COFFEE (the group's own specialty coffee brand, positioned around "Everyday Excellence"), Normcore Coffee's Korean branch, contract roasting and full-service operations for international coffee brands, and a business consulting practice. The structure combines manufacturing, wholesale, B2B services, B2C retail, and advisory under one operational roof.
Role & Fit
I am Founder and CEO. The role pulls together every function I have built experience in over the prior decade — green coffee QA, roasting, brand building, marketing, operations, and consulting — and integrates them into a single operating entity. Few coffee businesses in Korea combine this breadth; the company exists in its current form precisely because the skill set to run it exists.
Context
MTS Solutions launched as the first global branch of an Australian specialty brand entering the Korean market, with a specific focus on the North-East Asian market. By 2023–2024, it had expanded into contract roasting and B2B operational services for international coffee brands entering Korea, and more recently into brand and marketing consulting for adjacent Korean F&B businesses.
Challenges
Running a multi-line specialty coffee operation in Korea surfaces several structural challenges at once. First, maintaining production consistency across a widening roster of brands and SKUs — each international partner has its own profile discipline. Second, sustaining the MTSPACE COFFEE brand identity while the wholesale and contract-roasting books grow. Third, building B2B services priced for both international partners and Korean operators without distorting either segment and fourth, translating accumulated operational knowledge into consulting engagements that deliver real outcomes.
Approach & Execution
The operation is structured around data, not intuition. CRM, performance marketing, and content marketing are run as integrated systems rather than separate disciplines. New product development is anchored in market research and clear target positioning, not internal preference. B2B proposals are priced transparently and documented fully — the polished English-language proposal decks and contract-roasting service catalogues are part of the credibility layer for international clients. Consulting work is kept close to execution, reusing the three-step methodology — analyse, execute, review — from Growth Strategy Lab.
Outcomes
MTS Solutions now operates across manufacturing, wholesale, online retail, B2B services, and consulting. MTSPACE COFFEE has established blends and an active B2B pipeline with international brands. The business serves as the operational base for advisory work and as a living reference for clients considering similar structures. And now, it expands its coverage to include total solutions, including building its own operating systems, ERPs, and marketing automation tools.