South Korea’s leading bakery franchises, Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours, announced price reductions on select bread and cake products beginning next month, following pressure from the government and a recent decline in the cost of key ingredients.
Paris Baguette revealed on February 26th that it will lower prices on 11 items starting March 13th. Reductions range from 100 to 1,000 won per item. Specifically, red bean bread, cream bread, and custard cream bread will each decrease in price by 100 won, moving from 1,600 to 1,500 won. The price of multigrain oat bread will fall from 4,200 to 3,990 won. Larger cuts include a 510 won reduction on a three-piece castella cake, bringing the price to 2,990 won, and a 1,000 won reduction on French butter bread, now priced at 1,500 won. Five popular character cakes will see reductions of up to 10,000 won each, with the Huntrix Golden Cake decreasing from 39,000 to 29,000 won and the Soda Pop Cake from 33,000 to 25,000 won. Paris Baguette similarly plans to launch a 1,000 won croissant in March.
Just two hours after Paris Baguette’s announcement, Tous les Jours, operated by CJ Foodville, followed suit, announcing an average 8.2% price reduction on 17 items starting March 12th. This includes reductions of 100 to 1,100 won on 16 bread items and a 10,000 won reduction on the Rassoh Berry Good Day cake, bringing its price down to 19,000 won.
The price adjustments come after a period of scrutiny following an investigation into price fixing by sugar and flour manufacturers, including CJ CheilJedang, Samyang, Daehan Flour Mills, and Sajo Dong-A One. These companies lowered sugar and flour prices by approximately 5% in response to the investigation. President Lee Jae-myung publicly criticized these companies and, on February 24th, emphasized the need for consumers to benefit from the reduced ingredient costs.
The moves by Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours mark the first time major bakery franchises have lowered prices since the ingredient cost reductions, and are widely seen as a response to government pressure. The extent to which these price cuts will extend to other processed food sectors, such as snacks, ramen, and beverages, remains to be seen.
