Korean bakeries with French names outsmart French peers

Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours, South Korea's two largest bakery brands, have been consolidating their positions in the saturated domestic market, where French patisserie chains are downsizing or pulling out.

Brioche Dorée, a French bakery company, has completely withdrawn from South Korea, according to food service industry officials on Tuesday.

The bakery and café chain operator under Le Duff opened its first store in South Korea in 2013 in partnership with Daewoo Development Co. It once operated as many as 20 outlets in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, but has reduced the number to six as of last year.

Brioche Dorée closed all its stores in the country after its Korean partner Daewoo faced financial difficulties.

Contran Cherrier, another French bakery and café chain operator, arrived in Korea in 2014 with fanfare, but it trails far behind its homegrown rivals. The number of its bakery cafes in South Korea has increased to 32 from 26 in 2021.

In comparison, Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours operate between 1,000 and 3,500 stores nationwide.

The namesake café of renowned French pâtissier Contran Cherrier operates stores in major hub cities such as Paris, Singapore and Tokyo. 

A slew of high-end foreign bakery chains came to South Korea after the government banned large business groups’ entrance into the bakery industry in March 2013.

They include Brioche Dorée; Contran Cherrier; another French brand Pierre Herme; Kukuruza, a US popcorn shop operator; Lady M, a US crepe and cake company; and Mont St.Clair, a Japanese dessert café operator.

However, they have not built up a significant presence in the country.

Industry observers said that homegrown brands, led by Paris Baguette and Tour les Jours, have caught up to foreign gourmet confectionary companies in terms of quality and woo customers with modestly priced desserts.

The number of Paris Baguette’s bakery stores, under bread and confections company SPC Group, stands at 3,420 nationwide, while Tous les Jours, under CJ Foodville Co., operates 1,320 outlets.

Riding the K-food craze, they are aggressive in opening stores overseas as well. The number of Paris Baguette boutiques overseas rose to 530 as of the end of last year, versus 400 in 2018.  

Write to Sul-Li Jun at sljun@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.