On the 12th at about 10:08 a.m., in front of a bakery café in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong District, Seoul. The display shelves were already empty less than 10 minutes after opening. A woman in her 20s who came to buy "butter tteok" complained to the café owner with a disappointed look. She had come right at 10 a.m., but about 150 butter tteok on display sold out in eight minutes, and she had to leave empty-handed.
It was not hard to see people standing in line for hours to buy butter tteok. Around noon on the same day at the café, a person surnamed Han, 36, finally got butter tteok after waiting two hours from 9:55 a.m. Han said, "It kept popping up on Instagram, so I came out of curiosity," adding, "I came because they say this place is the best."
◇ Shanghai butter tteok from China spreads by word of mouth on social media
Following recent social media trends like "Dubai jjondeuk cookie" and "spring cabbage bibimbap," butter tteok is emerging as a new popular dessert. As "FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)" spreads among people anxious about missing trends, some self-employed owners have already started selling butter tteok. However, many say the life cycle of new products has become so short that they hesitate to add new menu items.
According to the industry on the 15th, butter tteok has recently risen to the top of search terms on major delivery platforms. Said to have started trending in Shanghai, China, butter tteok is a dessert baked with milk and butter in a dough that mixes glutinous rice flour and tapioca starch. It features the nutty flavor of butter, with a crispy exterior and a chewy interior.
Lines are forming in front of cafés around Seongsu-dong to buy butter tteok. Around 11 a.m. on the 12th, about 20 people were lined up in front of a café in Seongsu-dong. They were waiting for the butter tteok that comes out once every hour on the hour.
A café staffer, a person surnamed Hong, 34, said, "We make about 100 to 200 at a time, and even with a limit of 10 per person, they sell out quickly," adding, "Since we started selling butter tteok, sales feel like they've increased a hundredfold."
The reason butter tteok is popular is its "value for money." Butter tteok costs around 2,000 won per piece. Considering that the Dubai jjondeuk cookie recently trending costs more than 7,000 won each, that's about one-third. Unlike the Dubai jjondeuk cookie, which uses pricier materials and supplies such as pistachios or kadaif (a thin Middle Eastern pastry), butter tteok can be made with relatively inexpensive ingredients.
Lee Dahyun, 20, who bought butter tteok, said, "I bought 20 to share with friends," adding, "The Dubai jjondeuk cookie is honestly a bit much, but butter tteok is affordable, which is nice." A person surnamed Han, 21, also said, "I came to buy some for my girlfriend and my older sister," adding, "I hope the price stays where it is."
◇ Easy to make but short-lived trend… self-employed owners "wait and see"
As the production process is relatively simple, more self-employed owners are moving to sell it. In online communities for self-employed owners, posts read, "I was surprised the response was better than expected," and "It's easy to make, which makes it a good menu item to boost sales."
However, as demand surges in a short period, the prices of the main ingredients for butter tteok could rise. According to E-MART, from early last month when the butter tteok trend began through the 10th of this month, sales of glutinous rice flour rose about 108.6% from the same period a year earlier. Sales of tapioca starch also increased about 37.5% over the same period.
Some self-employed owners worry that trends change too quickly. A, who runs a bakery café in Seongsu-dong, said, "During the Dubai jjondeuk cookie trend, I bought ingredients in advance and was left with dead stock," adding, "I'm hesitant because I don't know when the butter tteok trend will end."
B, another café owner in Seongsu-dong, also said, "These days, it seems like trends are often manufactured intentionally through social media," adding, "For now, I have no plans to add butter tteok to the menu."