Angel in Us, the South Korean coffee franchise operated by Lotte Group affiliate Lotte GRS, said Tuesday that it will reenter the Indonesian market through a master franchise agreement with a local company. The brand, launched in 2006, built its identity around roasting coffee beans in its own stores.

Angel in Us signed the agreement with Indonesian food and beverage company Bogajaya Group, with the first outlet scheduled to open by the end of this year, according to a company press release. A signing ceremony was held Monday at Lotte World Tower in Seoul, where Lotte GRS Chief Executive Officer Lee Won-taek shook hands with Bogajaya Group CEO Budi Utomo after the two sides committed to opening 10 Angel in Us coffee outlets in Indonesia over the next five years.

A master franchise agreement allows a master franchisee not only to open franchise units within a specified area but also to sub-franchise them to third parties.

"Lotte directly operated Angel in Us outlets alongside its Lotteria burger chain in Indonesia for several years before withdrawing from the Southeast Asian market in 2020," a company spokesperson said.

Through its partnership with Bogajaya, Angel in Us plans to open 10 outlets over the next five years, aiming to establish Indonesia, home to a population of about 270 million, as a strategic base for its global expansion. The brand will be entering one of Asia's most competitive cafe markets: Indonesia is itself a major coffee-producing country, and its fast-growing coffee-shop sector has produced homegrown chains such as Kopi Kenangan and Janji Jiwa that compete alongside international brands.

Lotte GRS currently operates 240 Angel in Us outlets in Korea, with no overseas outlets in operation, making the Indonesian reentry the brand's first step back into international operations.

The agreement brings Angel in Us back to Southeast Asia five years after its withdrawal. Lotte GRS, the food service arm of Lotte Group — one of South Korea's largest conglomerates — also operates the Lotteria burger chain, which the company spokesperson noted had run alongside Angel in Us during the brand's earlier stint in the Indonesian market and which maintains a large store network in Vietnam. The move also follows a broader push by South Korean cafe brands into Southeast Asia, with chains such as Paik's Coffee opening outlets in Indonesia in recent years. Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, ranks among the world's most populous consumer markets, a scale that global food and beverage chains have long viewed as a draw.