Head into the basement of any bustling mall in Singapore and the chances are you will smell the sweetness of fresh, buttery baked goods.
Long lines of people swarm the counters of Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Singaporean bakeries – tray and tongs in hand, after picking out cream rolls and milk breads or filled croissants and fruity pastries from crowded display cabinets.
For Paris Baguette, its inspiration is clearly in the name, the outlets are also decorated with the colours of the tricolour, the signage shows the Eiffel Tower and the ambience seems to be aiming for something close to the charm of a Parisian cafe.
But it is 100% Korean.
“I wouldn’t limit our bread to everything from France. We are an international brand,” says Jin-soo Hur, president and chief executive of SPC Group, which owns Paris Baguette.
“Like croissants, could you say this is a European product? I would say it’s a universal product.”
SPC traces its roots back to a small family-owned bakery shop that opened 80 years ago.
It is now a key player in mass producing bread and pastries in South Korea, employing 20,000 people across all its brands. SPC says its sales hit $5.6bn (£4.26bn) last year.
In 1988, Paris Baguette was born becoming the first Korean bakery brand to open an international store in China, which continues to be a big market.
Today it has 4,000 stores across 14 countries including in Asia, Europe and the US.
Paris Baguette has big overseas expansion plans, setting a target of more than 1,000 new branches internationally by 2030 – many of them in the US.
It’s investing in a factory in Texas which will become its largest overseas production facility when it is completed in 2027, supplying the US, Canada and Latin America.
For Mr Hur, capturing the American market is a priority because it would mean Paris Baguette has succeeded internationally.
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