OB Vice President Nataly Borges shares her love for Coupang

When Nataly Borges first visited Korea, there was an undeniable air of excitement. She had just accepted a new position as the Vice President of Procurement and Sustainability for AB InBev in East Asia, where she would be working at Oriental Brewery, an AB InBev subsidiary and Korea’s largest brewer. This was her first prospect of living in Asia, after having lived in Brazil, the U.S., and Switzerland. Even after having lived in big cities for most her life, she sensed a very different, exciting new energy, especially at night, which she was eager to explore. So, in March 2020, she moved to Seoul with her husband Ben, ready to jump into the next chapter of their lives. Then came the full force of the pandemic.

Nataly, Ben, and their Siberian husky Mina soon found themselves navigating life in a foreign country in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic. Faced with an overwhelming challenge, they found help from an unexpected companion—Coupang. “Having Coupang downloaded on our phone was a game changer,” said Nataly. “Coupang made our transition to Korea easier and more enjoyable, even though we moved to Korea during COVID.”

One immediate benefit, for example, was the ability to procure masks. “It was funny because people said you have to have masks to enter a pharmacy… but you can only have a mask if you go to a pharmacy to buy it,” said Nataly. Thanks to Coupang, Nataly could simply have masks shipped to her directly the next day without having to leave the house. Nataly was also impressed by the huge selection of groceries available on Rocket Fresh, Korea’s largest nationwide online grocer. “It was very easy for me to find Korean products like rice, which is great, great quality,” said Nataly. “But we can also find Western products like parsley or basil.”

Soon, Nataly was using Coupang at least twice a week for everything from groceries and dog food to toiletries and other essentials, and even Cass Zero, a bestselling non-alcoholic beer sold by Oriental Brewery. She became such a fan of Coupang that she even heaped praises for its convenience and ease-of-use during her appearance on “Welcome, First Time in Korea?”, a popular Korean reality show featuring the lives of Korea’s expats. “The app is in Korean—doesn’t matter. If I was two years old, I could buy on Coupang. It’s an ally for convenience,” Nataly said on the show.

Another essential benefit of Coupang for Nataly is the ability to find foreign products she can’t find anywhere else in Korea. “My hair has a little bit of a personality, so if I don’t use the right products, I won’t be able to get out of the house in the morning,” she said with a laugh. When she first moved to Korea, she even came with a three-month supply of hair products, but soon had to find a way to buy more. “I went to all the beauty stores you can imagine, and the pharmacies, and I looked at many websites. And the place where I found it was on Coupang.”

Cassava, a popular root eaten in Brazil, was another such item. When Nataly found herself missing home, she visited many different stores to find the food from her home country, and was so happy to see it in stock on Coupang. “You can ask my husband,” she said. “I almost melted down in my chair when I took the first bite. It was the one item that I was missing so much. And I couldn’t find it. And when I finally found it, it was very important for dealing with my homesickness.”

Most of all, as someone with a sustainability-oriented job, Nataly loves that her orders come in reusable eco-bags. “That was another game changer,” she said. “When I was in New York, I once ordered some fruits, and the fruits came wrapped in plastic and in a cardboard box. That just didn’t feel right to me.” She added, “I think Coupang is very admirable for its efforts to reduce packaging.”