Paris Baguette's localization strategy in the United States is evident in its catering business. Launched in 2020 in response to the popularity of corporate events, parties, weddings, school functions and community gatherings, the business has emerged as a new growth driver for the bakery chain in just six years.
Catering sales increased every month last year, with annual revenue growing approximately 30 percent from the previous year.
Paris Baguette has continued to develop its catering services to meet consumer needs. After establishing a system that allows customers to place orders at all its North American stores, the company introduced an online ordering platform in August last year.
Customers can select menus, quantities and schedules online, with orders delivered to the designated location at the requested time.
The company is also stepping up its promotional efforts. During a visit to its North Hollywood store in the United States on Oct. 23, I spotted promotional posters displaying the message "We Cater," along with QR codes. Scanning the codes takes customers to the online ordering platform, where they can browse menus and prices.
Paris Baguette plans to accelerate growth by expanding its catering menu, which currently includes pastries, croissants, doughnuts, sandwiches, fruit, salads, coffee, beverages and cakes, to include desserts such as cake slices and macarons. It also plans to further enhance its online ordering platform.
In Vietnam, differentiation was achieved through freshly baked bread. Unlike local bakeries that sell bread supplied in a refrigerated state, Paris Baguette bakes bread directly in its stores. The strategy appeals to local consumers by emphasizing the freshness and quality of freshly baked bread.
It is also radical to exclude baguettes, which are popular due to the influence of the French colonial era. Instead, it develops and aggressively promotes Paris Baguette’s own menus as substitutes. A representative menu item is the Yuk Song Bread.
This product features finely shredded, seasoned meat stir-fried and placed on top of bread, and is popular locally as a meal replacement. Viet Nguyen, Marketing Deputy Manager at Paris Baguette’s Asia, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA) Regional Headquarters, evaluated it by saying, “Yuk Song Bread is a menu item sold only in Vietnam and is a bestseller.”
Among beverages, the “Red Bean Mochi Matcha Pastry,” topped with matcha cream and strawberries on a pastry, and a Vietnam-specific coffee featuring condensed milk coffee topped with salty cream are popular.
Paris Baguette plans to expand its position in the Vietnamese market as a bakery cafe where bread and coffee are enjoyed together.
Nguyen said, “Vietnamese people love coffee and have a culture of visiting cafes daily. Based on the competitiveness we have secured in the bread and cake fields, we want to strengthen our coffee offerings and grow into a bakery cafe.”
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