Let’s just say you don’t have to put the BTS cold brew on Santa’s list this year.
Seela Mart, Kolkata’s newest Korean grocery store, is opening for business on October 23 and you can now add the ever-so-coveted BTS Coffee to your K-pop ‘kart’ along with your monthly supply of Nongshim Ramyun (ramen). In an attempt to offer a glimpse into the Instagram-friendly Korean convenience store culture, King’s Bakery founder Seok Jung, along with Park Euy Don, director of Seela Kolkata, have worked together to design the Korean grocery store at at 216/3B AJC Bose Road (beside Conclave).
Seela Mart offers a wide variety of K-pop products and edible picks sourced directly from Korea including K-goodies such as traditional rice cakes (tteok), ready-to-cook products from Bibigo (a popular Korean cuisine brand), and everyday essentials such as stationery, organisers, and other quirky merchandise. And needless to say, pre-orders for the BTS coffee are rushing in.
Ramen-o-holics can grab packets of their favourite instant noodles. Choose from popular brands such as Shin, Nongshim, Ottogi, Paldo, and some other brands that will exclusively be available at the store.
“We are focusing on e-commerce and are delivering all over Kolkata and other cities too. At the moment Seela Mart is located within the King’s Bakery AJC Bose Road branch. What sets us apart from other grocery stores is that we supply not only groceries but also FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) straight from South Korea (I am an exclusive partner in East India),” shares Seok Jung.
Seela Mart will be officially inaugurated in a few days but K-pop connoisseurs who dropped into King’s Bakery during Puja could snatch a few buys if Jung was around. Prema Biswas, for instance, an employee at Amazon India and a BTS super fan (her favourite member is Jimin and her favourite BTS song is Film Out) was one such lucky girl.
“I visited the store on Navami and was quite surprised. Everyone knows how a wave of Korean culture has swept through the country and I am a big fan! I picked up some Korean tea, chocolates and Ramyeon packs. The product most in-demand, however, was the BTS coffee, which needs to be pre-ordered,” she confirmed.
More information is available on social media, check out Seelamart_kolkata on Instagram and Facebook.
Here’s a link to their upcoming website for online shopping: www.seelamart-kolkata.in