For some time now, aspects of Korean culture, such as K-pop and Korean TV and film content, have been generating a buzz on a global scale, and the attention being drawn to Korean offerings only continues to grow. Korean bakeries and baked products are no exception to this sensation.
TOUS les JOURS first entered the global bakery market in 2004, choosing the U.S. as the ideal location for its debut. Now the company is consolidating on that successful launch and expanding throughout the whole country, including major cities like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. By taking locals eating trends and broader lifestyle choices into consideration, in parallel with maximizing the company’s unique selling points (USPs), these Korean bakeries have been able to win over customers in a wide array of areas. CJ Newsroom sat down with the executives of CJ Foodville USA to discover what the key to their U.S. success was.
TLJ in LA
CJ Newsroom spoke to Ahn Hun-soo, CEO of Foodville USA, who is in charge of brand expansion in the United States, Judy Lee, who works in human resources and organizational behavior, Alexandra Hager, CJ Foodville’s beverage specialist and winner of first place at the 2022 US Coffee in Good Spirits Championship and Her So-jung, a member of the business development team.
Q. What is the story of CJ Foodville’s American campaign and why did TOUS les JOURS choose the U.S. as its first non-Korean market?
Ahn Hun-soo : TOUS les JOURS entered the US bakery market when it opened its first location in Los Angeles in 2004. TOUS les JOURS faced difficulties early on in the process because existing management tools and practices were still adapting to the American market. However, as the business grew it began to make profit and has now been doing so for five prosperous years.
Judy Lee: TOUS les JOURS currently owns 77 stores across all the states it is active in and is expecting to reach 100 stores soon. TOUS les JOURS’ ambition is no less than becoming the best-loved bakery in the U.S.. We are planning to expand to 1000 stores by 2030.
Alexandra Hager: Being successful in the U.S. market carries a lot of significance because America is the world’s largest single market. It is the birthplace of the franchise as a concept. Succeeding in the United States can safely be thought of as one of the fastest and surest routes to becoming a truly global franchise.
Q. Are there cultural and culinary differences between Korean and American bread?
Her So-jung Her: In Korea, bread is thought of as a snack or a treat. Bread is sometimes prepared like that in the States, but it is also a more integral food that can be a central part of breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is why, for example, the demand for European bread is high in the U.S..
Hager: Bread is generally not hugely strong in flavor in the U.S. because Americans eat bread with a variety of other foods, foods you would not want to overpower the taste of. Korean bread, in contrast, is usually sweet because Koreans enjoy bread as a snack primarily. This was quite striking for me at first, personally, but I soon grew to like it.
Ahn: Plenty of customers at first would ask why there was such a wide variety of bread in our stores. You do not usually see that in coffee places in the States.
Her: In the U.S. you do get bread-based snacks like cookies and muffins, but these are defined as confectionery breads and people have very specific associations with them. Customers are surprised to see all sorts of bread in our bakeries, whether it is designed as snack food or for use in full meals.
Hager: So the uniqueness of Korean bakeries lies in that wide spectrum of choice and in the flexibility of different flavors. American customers who were first made aware of Korean food through savory options like kimchi visited us after hearing stories about what Korean bakeries might be like. TOUS les JOURS is taking full advantage of this zeitgeist by offering red bean and kimchi bakery options too, and this has been a big success.
TOUS les JOURS’ Competitiveness
Q. How did TOUS les JOURS grow its business and start generating profit? What is the secret to its success?
Lee: That success lies in structural innovation and an ability to reorganize the business adaptably. These are the main factors that have led to profit. We have also put effort into hiring local talent and into localization strategies that help us maintain our corporate status. In 2018, the U.S. branches of TOUS les JOURS became CJ Foodville’s first global subsidiary to record a financial surplus.
Q. What changes did the COVID-19 pandemic bring about in the bakery industry?
Her: Many local bakeries in the U.S. made an identity shift towards casual dining during the pandemic. Even coffee places started doing more light meals, but customers were not responsive to this change and many bakeries started closing down. This was a shock to witness, but we tried to learn from models that began failing. TOUS les JOURS’ competitive edge came from uniqueness and a willingness to get involved and work out why some businesses were failing and some were not. As a result, the business rode through the pandemic as it is now celebrating expanding success. We are very proud of this, of course.
Q. What was TOUS les JOURS’ marketing strategy for overcoming the pandemic?
Lee: TOUS les JOURS paid keen attention to the growing importance of home dining during the pandemic. First, we improved the quality of our cakes and, secondly, we tried to better communicate with customers and speak to their needs by developing seasonal cakes that target families. This way, we were able to successfully bring in more customers and find the silver lining in the situation.
Hager: We also focused on improving coffee quality. It was important to secure a place in the market not just as a bakery but also as a coffee provider. To do this, we visited various coffee roasters and found the perfect local roasters that both Korean and American tasters found satisfying.
Meet theTOUS les JOURS Cerritos
Located on the West Coast, TOUS les JOURS’ flagship store in Cerritos has a modern exterior that harmonizes perfectly with the relaxed Orange County vibe. Hager took us on a tour of the branch.
Hager: The first thing you notice when you step into the bakery is the eye-catching open kitchen. It’s got a fresh, pristine look and feel to it. The interior is designed for customers to be able to look around the bakery naturally and in a relaxed way. They can peruse, at their own pace, the bread, sandwiches and cakes, which are arranged in an intuitive order without giving the store an overly regimented atmosphere. From European to Asian style choices, TOUS les JOURS Cerritos offers customers more than 200 types of bread.
Q. Are there any memorable moments you have had with specific customers?
Hager: Yes! Not long after the Cerritos store first opened, we got a visit from an especially loyal customer. He had driven over 60 kilometers(37.2 miles), from Riverside, just for a cup of espresso. He explained to me that it was because of how much he loved the flavor. Of course, that is a gratifying moment to have as a beverage manager.
There were also customers who came to visit without realizing that Tous Les Jours is a Korean bakery. They were very curious, and it’s always fun to engage with that curiosity and see customers having their first experience with something completely new to them.
Most customers in the store talked about how surprised they were by such a wide-ranging menu. Customers pointed out that American bakeries tend to offer similar choices to one another, and this makes TOUS les JOURS something of a unique cultural experience for them. That’s not something you can say every day about the process of grabbing a quick coffee.
