At 3 p.m. on the 13th (local time), at the Tous Les Jours La Habra store in California, U.S. In the refrigerated showcase were cakes shaped like peaches, mangoes and pistachios. Once so popular in Korea that it sparked an "open run" (lining up before the doors open to buy), the "Agjak cake" went on sale in the United States for the first time that day.
Right by the entrance, a display case held red bean buns, twisted doughnuts, kimchi croquettes and salt bread—breads commonly seen in Korea. The store's look was not much different, either. Opened in July last year, this location spans about 320㎡ (97 pyeong) with 80 seats, and it is the first in North America to apply the new brand identity (BI) used at major stores in Apgujeong and Gangnam in Seoul.
While the product lineup and space were similar to Korean stores, most customers were locals. According to CJ Foodville, more than 60% of customers at the La Habra store are Latino. About 12% are Asian. In a survey of about 300 U.S. consumers, only five were Korean American, but about 72% of respondents recognized Tous Les Jours as a Korean-style bakery (K-bakery).
The most popular product in the United States is the "Cloud cake." Unlike American cakes that mostly use butter, it uses fresh cream, making it less sweet with a light, soft texture. Items familiar in Korea—such as red bean buns, twisted doughnut rings and kimchi croquettes—also rank among the top sellers.
Pastries and other breads generally cost $3–$6, and whole cakes are around $40. Big-box stores like Costco and Walmart sell cakes in the $10–$20 range, but Baskin-Robbins whole cakes are around $30, and some 8-inch whole cakes at upscale grocer Whole Foods Market are about $39. Considering U.S. prices, Tous Les Jours is not uniquely expensive.
Cakes are made fresh in-store every day, and the designs have been diversified. On holidays such as Christmas, the brand rolls out limited-edition items for the season. An Seung-jun, head of global business at CJ Foodville and head of the U.S. subsidiary, said, "Locals describe fresh-cream cakes as 'cloudy' and view them as a bit more premium," adding, "That's why they are willing to pay more than for mass-produced cakes at regular groceries."
CJ Foodville said it worked to keep Tous Les Jours' Korean product lineup and characteristics as intact as possible in the United States. Rather than cutting varieties or changing flavors to suit local tastes, it kept red bean buns, croquettes, pastries, doughnuts and cakes. It is a different approach from local bakeries that carry only a few items.
Instead, ingredients and store operations were tailored to the U.S. market. By using U.S.-produced flour and other inputs, the brand recreated the same flavors sold in Korea, and it adjusted customer service and interactions to local norms. An said, "Because hospitality—such as how you interact with customers—is important in the United States, we focused on localization in operations."
Since entering the United States, Tous Les Jours has steadily grown its business. After expanding in 2004, the number of stores in North America reached 205 as of June this year. More than 90% of U.S. locations are franchises, and more than half of franchisees operate multiple stores.
In step with store expansion, an automated production plant of about 90,000㎡ (27,000 pyeong) has been operating since late last year in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia. It can produce more than 100 million units of frozen dough and cakes annually. Sales at CJ Foodville's U.S. subsidiary rose from 51 billion won in 2021 to 194.6 billion won last year, about a fourfold increase. Net profit has been in the black for eight straight years, from 2018 through last year.