Cost-effective Mart Bakery, Sales Also Booming

Price Increase at Embankment Specialty Stores
Homeplus Montblancje Sales Up 23%
Quality Also Maintains Standards

Consumers looking for cost-effective bread sold at large supermarkets are increasing. This is analyzed to be due to significantly improved quality and the recent sharp rise in bakery specialty store bread prices.

Exterior view of Homeplus Mega Food Market Asiad Branch Montblanc Bakery.
Photo by Homeplus

According to the industry on the 1st, Homeplus bakery ‘Montblanger’ saw its online and offline sales from January to November 15 this year increase by 23% compared to a year earlier. Sales of bagels, croquettes, and other items sold as meal replacements increased by 11%, and bread sales rose by 21%. In particular, sales of the Alps Salt Bread (321%) and Mont’s Donut (280%) containing cream, launched last April, jumped about threefold.

At Emart and Traders, sales growth of ‘cost-effective bread’ was also remarkable. The ‘Economic Croissant’ introduced in February was sold at 748 won each, and 100,000 sets (8 pieces per set) were sold within two months of launch. Also, the ‘Economic Yakgwa Pie’ launched in March sold 20,000 sets (10 pieces per set) within ten days of release.

The main reason why cost-effective bread sold at large supermarkets showed high sales growth rates is the improved quality. Until now, large supermarket bread was limited to displaying so-called ‘supermarket bread’ mass-produced in factories, but now it has been upgraded to the level of baking and selling bread directly through their own bakery brands. Recently, some places, like Lotte Mart’s own bakery brand ‘Pungmiso,’ aim for ‘taste surpassing specialty stores and premium bread.’

The simultaneous rise in major ingredient costs such as sugar, butter, milk, and flour, which led bakery specialty stores to raise bread prices, also contributed to increasing the recognition of supermarket bread. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index for bread surged from 122.87 in October last year to 129.58 in the same month this year. The price of sugar, a major ingredient, rose significantly from 121.20 to 142.27 during the same period, and milk increased from 106.76 to 122.03.

An industry official emphasized, "Supermarket bread is freshly baked and displayed in stores now, so it does not fall behind specialty bakeries in terms of quality at all," adding, "It seems to have met customer demand by combining freshness with affordable prices." Professor Eunhee Lee of Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies said, "Large supermarkets are in a position where they need to attract consumers to stores in competition with the online market," and added, "Baking is one of the elements of attracting customers, and it does not feel like a bait product. From the consumer’s perspective, it is a win-win structure because they can buy high-quality products at low prices."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.