Discount stores expand bakery sections to attract more shoppers
Models pose with cake products at Emart's private bakery brand Boulanger in Yongsan, Seoul, in this 2022 file photo. Courtesy of Shinsegae Food
By Kim Jae-heun
Emart and other discount store chains are enhancing their in-store bakeries by introducing more cost-effective products under private brands to attract more customers amid continued high inflation, according to company officials, Sunday.
With local bakery franchises such as Paris Baguette and Tour Les Jour rushing to hike prices, retailers are seeking to offer alternatives to consumers by offering bread items in bulk, at competitive prices.
Emart has opened 133 brand bakeries such as Boulangerie, Ebakery and Milk and Honey at its stores across the country. The products vary from premium desserts to pizzas and cost-effective cakes that come in bundles.
“Bakeries at our stores are operated by Shinsegae Food and we are strengthening their competitiveness by improving the quality of products and promoting the brands,” an Emart official said. “We want to prove to customers that our products can taste as good as those of a bakery franchise.”
Homeplus' private bakery brand Mon Boulanger in Seoul / Courtesy of Homeplus
Lotte Mart recently opened three branches of its private bakery brand Pung Mi So at its stores in Gwangju Metropolitan City, Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province and Mokpo in South Jeolla Province.
Patissiers there bake products every morning at 6 a.m. and all of them are discarded if not sold on the same day.
“Our professional chefs and bakery team at Lotte Mart's Food Innovation Center worked together for a year to develop the best quality products. As a result, our newly launched products including Butter Salt Bread, Souffle Roll Cake and Fresh Cream Cake have become best-sellers at our stores, ranking from the first to fifth,” a Lotte Mart official said.
Homeplus, which operates its private bakery chain, Mon Boulanger, saw its sales in its bakery section soar 20 percent between January and April. The large discount store is also baking products at its production facility in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, for supplying retail outlets across the country each morning.