Near Anguk Station, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Even though it was 10 a.m. on a weekday, the line of people seemed endless.
There were over 100 groups waiting just to enter the store,
and more than 70 groups waiting only for takeout.
The temperature was 31 degrees Celsius. It was as hot as a midsummer day,
but people stood in line patiently, sweating in the heat.
This place is none other than the London Bagel Museum.
Waiting 3 hours for a single bagel
London Bagel Museum opens at 7:30 a.m.
However, the line starts forming as early as 7 a.m.
According to a staff member at London Bagel Museum,
"Even for takeout, you have to wait at least an hour and a half,
and if you want to dine in, it can take close to three hours,"
"If you're unlucky, the wait time can even stretch to three hours and 45 minutes," the staff member said.
The reporter put their name on the takeout waiting list at around 9:20 a.m.,
and was able to enter at 10:40 a.m., about an hour and 20 minutes later.
But that wasn't the end of the wait.
Inside the store, there was yet another line to select bagels.
Some customers gave up and left while waiting.
Despite the high prices, shopping baskets are full
The bagels were by no means cheap.
Salt bread and pretzel plain bagels were 4,700 won each,
garlic bagels were 5,300 won,
the Brick Lane sandwich was 7,500 won,
and the green onion pretzel bagel was 8,500 won.
After picking out five bagels, the total quickly exceeded 30,000 won.
Most customers nearby also filled their baskets with several bagels before heading to the register.
One customer said, "There was so much buzz on social media that I came out of curiosity,"
"It's expensive, but my desire to try them for myself was even stronger."
Another customer said, "Whenever I come, I end up spending 30,000 to 40,000 won,"
"Bagels are light like a snack, and there are so many varieties that it's fun to choose."
No advertisements, so why is it so successful?
London Bagel Museum started with its Anguk branch in Seoul in 2021,
and now operates only six directly managed stores: Dosan, Jeju, Jamsil, Suwon, and Yeouido.
There are no noticeable advertisements or celebrity-driven marketing campaigns.
Yet, the area in front of the store is always crowded.
The key is word of mouth.
The 'scarcity' of not being able to buy these bagels easily has become an even bigger attraction.
Bagels acquired after waiting in line are showcased on social media,
and those posts generate more word of mouth,
which in turn leads to even longer lines at London Bagel Museum.
Currently, there are about 108,000 Instagram followers,
the hashtag '#LondonBagelMuseum' has been used nearly 120,000 times,
and on the restaurant reservation app 'Catch Table',
it ranked number one for 'most people waiting' in both 2023 and 2024.
Even surpassed Sung Sim Dang, earned 79.6 billion won with just bagels
The operating company, LBM, recorded
79.6 billion won in sales from bagels alone in 2023.
Operating profit was 24.3 billion won.
Compared to the previous year, sales increased by 120.9%,
and operating profit grew by 91.7%.
The operating profit margin was 30.5%,
which is even higher than Sung Sim Dang, a well-known local bakery, at 25%.
Achieving these results with just six stores and no advertising
cannot be explained simply by saying "it's delicious."
Today's consumers have a desire to obtain rare things and share them with others.
The line in front of London Bagel Museum
perfectly reflects that psychology.
IndexThe Secret of Bread Prices
- Sellouts, Shortages, and Open Runs... The 'Chronicles of Bread' That Shook Korea
- "Expensive, but Still Filling Their Baskets"... London Bagel Earns 80 Billion Won on Word of Mouth Alone
- '1,000 Won Bakeries' Sell 500 Breads a Day: "If You Go at 3 PM, They're Sold Out"
- 2000-Won Bread, 200 Billion-Won Boom...The Secret Behind Seongsimdang's Soaring Sales
- Picked Up a Franchise Cream Bread and Gasped... Why Do Prices Differ by Neighborhood?
- "Is It Really Just Raw Material Costs?"...Other Reasons Behind Korea's Soaring Bread Prices
- "Even a Single Slice Costs 10,000 Won... 'Cake Slices' Now as Expensive as Lunch"
- Salt Bread That Used to Cost 5,000 Won at Bakeries... "Only 2,000 Won at Home"
- "I Want to Try Slow Aging Too"... 'Health Breads' See Explosive Sales Despite Double the Price
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Reporter Heo Midam damdam@asiae.co.kr
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Edit Hur Eunmi eungmimon@asiae.co.kr
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