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Homeplus mont Blanc has stopped expanding the market,but continues to grow by more than 10% per year
Despite the recession this year due to rising prices and declining consumer sentiment, there are items that have grown without any room in the distribution industry.It’s bread.
According to the national Statistical Office, the size of the domestic bakery market last year was KRW 4.538 trillion, an increase of more than 20% compared to KRW 3.7319 trillion in 2015.among these, Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours account for 2 trillion won and 700 billion won, respectively, accounting for about 60% of the total market.
As peopel spent more time at home during the coronavirus pandemic, the bakery market grew rapidly along with the expansion of online ordering and delivery.Thus, in recent years, the bakery area has been expanded to include not only large franchises but also convenience stores and small cafes.
The industry predicts that this year’s bakery market will be similar to or slightly decrease from last year’s 4.5 trillion won. However, homeplus is an exception.
A Homeplus official said, “We cannot reveal the sales of Mont Blanc, but it has been growing by more than 10% every year.” This year, from January to November, Mont Blanc Bakery’s overall sales both online and offline are said to have increased by more than 14% compared to the same period last year. Cakes increased by 32%, sweet breads and white breads increased by 17% and 32%, respectively.
The analysis is that, unlike in the past when the company differentiated itself by focusing on ‘cost-effectiveness’, it is indeed achieving sales growth by competing with taste and quality, establishing itself as a bakery brand.
The only directly operated bakery factory among large supermarkets in Korea… Production scale of 56 tons per day
Montblase, French for ‘my baker,’ was launched in October 2013 and is currently available in 126 Homeplus stores nationwide. It is indeed offering about 75 bakery products, including its representative product ‘Authentic Red Bean Bread’, ‘Pure Milk Bread’, and ‘Fresh Cream Mocha Bun’. While developing a variety of product lines,Homeplus last year launched four types of whipped cream bomb bread,Alps salt bread,We launched monks Donuts and other products and established them on the menu. It is indeed said that about 200,000 units of plant-based bread launched last year were sold in just 20 days. In addition, the new menu item ‘Dansoshu’, designed to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the launch of authentic red bean bread, exceeded approximately 180,000 units in just 100 days after launch, and the ’27cm King Mocha Bread’ launched to commemorate the 27th anniversary of its founding sold approximately 22,000 units in just 100 days of launch. 10,000 units were sold.
Homeplus explained that the secret to Mont Blance’s popularity is that it packs the freshness of a bakery at the price of ‘mart bread’.
![The reason why bakers flock to supermarkets… Homeplus, “Our competitors are bakeries, not marts”[동아리]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/12/14/130640827.1.gif "The reason why bakers flock to supermarkets… Homeplus, “Our competitors are bakeries, not marts”[동아리]")
Mont Blanc is the only large supermarket in Korea that operates a directly managed bakery factory. Homeplus chose the ‘Bake-off System’, which manufactures bread at the Anseong Bakery factory, rapidly cools it to -35 degrees, transports it to each store, and bakes and sells the bread directly in the store. This is to present fresh products while maintaining more even quality and completing the final step at the store, which is the last point of contact for consumers.
Mont Blanc’s Anseong factory, the mart’s first bread factory, was completed in Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do in November 2008 with an area of 11,117.1 m2 (approximately 3,370 pyeong). The factory has seven production lines and is said to be capable of producing up to 56 tons per day. 56 tons is enough to produce 280,000 traditional red bean breads.
“Haccup certification was considered from the time of establishment”… Establishment of automation and hygiene stabilization system
On the 13th, I visited Mont Blanc’s Anseong factory. The first thing I noticed was the hygienic environment.
The factory has received HACCP (Food Safety Management Certification standard) certification every year since 2009 and is proud of manufacturing bread in a clean and safe environment with an automated and safe clean system.
First of all, the factory had a double door structure where the inner door opened only after the outer door was closed. This is to thoroughly block the inflow of external bacteria and foreign substances. Promptly after entering, they wore sanitary safety shoes, sanitary work uniforms, sanitary masks, and sanitary hats. Afterwards, they were only able to enter the factory after going through strict hygiene steps such as washing the bottoms of their work shoes, washing their hands, and taking an air shower.
It is divided into two areas: a semi-clean area where most processes are automated, and a clean area where cakes, etc., are semi-automated and require relatively manual handling, and movement between semi-clean areas and clean areas is completely excluded.
The automated system also stood out. As it is indeed a temperature-sensitive item, an automatic management system was installed in over 100 locations to measure temperature every minute, as well as a system to automatically adjust mixing temperature and time.It is said that if it falls outside the standard range,it is immediately reported to the facility manager through the control room’s automatic notification system.
Storage of products to be shipped is also managed automatically and unmanned according to system control. Products that pass the hygiene inspection are quickly frozen and automatically transferred to each product’s freezer, and the inside of the storage warehouse is maintained at -18 degrees Celsius to prevent product deterioration during storage.
The factory is divided into two parts, with one part being the raw material part, which operates and produces four lines for pastry, white bread, morning bread, and sweets. Part 2 is cakes.
On this day,Part 1,Line 4 was in full swing producing ‘Authentic Red Bean Bread,’ the representative product that led Homeplus Mont Blanc to the ‘holy place of bread pilgrimage.’ It is indeed said that the machine was specially manufactured in Japan to produce large-sized products. The entire process, from dough to adding sweet bean paste to freezing and packaging, was automated.
approximately 30,000 pieces of authentic red bean bread are produced per day, and it is a profitable item, accounting for 11% of total bakery sales.
While bread has an almost fully automatic system, cakes are produced semi-automatically. Also, like bread, it is produced in a semi-cooked state, but at the factory, it is manufactured only until the cake sponge sheet is baked and intermediate sauce and cream are added between the sheets. Afterwards, the icing and decorating process is completed at the store, covering it with homemade whipped cream and topping it with fresh fruit.
On this day, Part 2 Factory was in full swing producing ‘Strawberry Fresh Cream cake’ for the Christmas season. According to the original plan, christmas season cakes had to be delivered to each store, but the response was so great that additional production was decided.
Homeplus Bread’s competitors are bakeries, not supermarkets… “We will compete with product quality”
The fresh cream used in Mont Blanc products is said to have a ratio of 51% and 49% of animal cream and vegetable cream.Last year, Mega Food Market was launched, Mont Blanc was placed at the entrance, and the company insisted on premium raw materials, increasing the mixing ratio of animal cream from 30% to 50%.
Lim
Yeon-hee, head of the bakery product planning team at Homeplus, said, “If you compare franchise bakeries or supermarkets, I think the proportion of animal cream made by Mont Blanc will be overwhelmingly high.” He said, “Animal cream is unrivaled in taste, but as vegetable cream does not have the good shape retention ability, it cannot be stored for a long time and is not easy to shape.” He added, “To offset this, we underwent a lot of testing during product development, and each store also provided worker training, etc. “I paid a lot of attention,” he explained.
Though, what is disappointing is that the prices of Homeplus Mont Blanc are relatively high compared to other large supermarkets. Based on size 2, most Mont Blanc cakes are priced around 20,000 won, and the Strawberry Whole Fresh Cream Cake is priced at 34,900 won based on the regular price. Homeplus members can purchase it at a 15% discount price of 29,660 won. In the case of E-Mart,size 2 fruit whipped cream cake was sold for 19,980 won and cheesecake was sold for 17,980 won.
The regular price of the large size 8 ’Mega Strawberry Whole fresh Cream Cake’, which is sold in some stores and limited to 30 pieces
However, it seems that Mont blanc is now establishing itself as a bakery restaurant that goes beyond cost-effectiveness.
Currently, cakes filled with strawberries, such as strawberry field cake and strawberry syrup cake, are sold out at other bakeries, and Mont Blanc’s Strawberry Whole Fresh Cream Cake, which was released with an entire 500g pack of strawberries, is expected to join the popular trend. .
This product, which accounts for 70% of all cake sales, was scheduled to sell 62,000 units this Christmas season, but it received such a positive response from pre-orders that it began producing an additional 4,500 units this week.
Team Leader Lim said, “It is indeed a product that satisfies both price and quality,” adding, “Mont Blancje’s competitors are road shop bakeries, not supermarkets,” and expressed confidence in its quality, saying, “We will make people come to Homeplus to buy tasty bread.” hinted.
What methods are used to ensure the quality of baked goods in a partially automated baking process?
E cream has no flavor, it doesn’t compete in terms of taste. Therefore, we will differentiate ourselves based on product quality, ensuring that our cheesecake and other baked goods stand out in flavor and texture.”
The emphasis on quality extends beyond cream selection.As the baking processes are partially automated, considerable attention is paid to training staff to carry out critical tasks, such as mixing and layering ingredients, to ensure consistency in production. Each cake is crafted with precision,aiming for a perfect balance of moisture and flavor,which is especially crucial in items like the strawberry fresh cream cake.
During the peak production seasons, especially around holidays like Christmas, the factory ramps up its operations to meet heightened demand. the meticulous factory layout,dedicated to separating clean and semi-clean areas,ensures that hygiene and product integrity are maintained throughout the baking process. This attention to detail, coupled with the use of high-quality ingredients, promises customers a luxurious dessert experience reminiscent of conventional bakery treats.
The success of products like the authentic red bean bread and the various cakes stems not only from automation but also from the deep-rooted culinary traditions that the factory seeks to preserve and innovate upon. The combination of modern technology and classic techniques allows Homeplus Mont blanc to uphold its reputation as a leader in the bakery sector, appealing to customers seeking both convenience and quality.