Heart-shaped tiramisu that you break like crème brûlée, Korean-style premium yakgwa sought by G-Dragon and New Jeans, and croissants with a cute teddy bear vibe. These are the highlights of the recent dessert trends that have captivated the young demographic in their 10s to 30s in Korea.
The 'hipster' consumer group does not simply seek out food because it tastes good; they do not choose it just because it looks pretty. They select unique concepts that reinterpret familiar elements in new ways, considering the overall brand sentiment that harmonizes taste and aesthetics. In other words, the young consumer group meticulously evaluates all elements that can be seen, tasted, and felt.
The dessert brands that have enchanted them share a common trait. They have transformed simple foods like tiramisu, yakgwa, and croissants into luxurious and innovative creations. Moreover, there is a 'Midas touch' behind these creations. It belongs to food influencer 'Ddugi' (Yang Ji-woo).
At just 26 years old, he is a young entrepreneur and one of the hottest planners in the food and beverage (F&B) industry. As a teenager attending Anyang Arts High School, he started selling marshmallow banana juice at a street stall on Anyang Ilbeonga. The team name of the street stall was 'Baebul-tugi', which later evolved into his influencer name 'Ddugi'. He began documenting food on a separate Instagram account, which gained followers over time. As he became more well-known, he was offered a position as a content marketer at CNP, which operates brands like Our Bakery. This marked the beginning of his journey as a full-fledged F&B marketer.
He gained experience launching CNP and the granola brand 'Dduginola'. He expanded his role from content planning to menu planning. In October 2022, he collaborated with Chef Kim Hoon of 'Saemsaemsaem' to open the Teddy Bear House. They added 'beur' (French for butter) to the cute teddy bear concept. Ddugi stated, "I thought it was attractive when a familiar food like croissants had a different interior, design, or concept attached to it," adding, "I pursued a level of novelty that was familiar yet challenging to explore."
The result of his next challenge is 'Golden Piece'. He elegantly decorated and created yakgwa, a traditional Korean dessert. Last year, when G-Dragon collaborated with Nike for an event, he was offered to present desserts, which helped to widely promote the brand. Ddugi remarked, "I realized that luck is also important for brand success," explaining, "I introduced rabbit-shaped yakgwa that matched the New Jeans concept, and many celebrities certified it on social media, which made it famous."
The 'Heart Tiramisu' launched this year follows the same pattern. Instead of the usual route of gaining fame through online shopping malls and then entering department stores, they targeted department stores first. In June, they opened a pop-up store at The Hyundai Seoul for the first time for six weeks and officially entered the department store. At that time, they achieved sales of 700 million won, setting a new record for dessert pop-up sales at The Hyundai Seoul, known as the 'holy land of pop-ups'.
Following that, in September, they generated sales of 300 million won in less than a month at the pop-up store celebrating the opening of Busan Connect Hyundai. They achieved over 1 billion won in sales solely from pop-up stores and subsequently entered The Hyundai Seoul (August), Hyundai Department Store Trade Center and Pangyo (October), and The Hyundai Daegu (November).
He explained, "The younger generation nowadays perceives department stores as expensive places that sell luxury goods, but The Hyundai Seoul is recognized as a 'hip place'," revealing the background for choosing an offline store. This means that rather than just a place to shop for luxury goods or miscellaneous items, it is seen as a venue where people expect various experiential elements and are mentally prepared to taste desserts.
Ddugi added, "In the food industry, where new things are constantly emerging, failure is a natural phenomenon," stating, "I want to build a solid brand in the long term to provide fresh experiences."
[Reporter Park Hong-joo]
