Paris Baguette is taking its U.S. expansion into a new kind of neighborhood, with the South Korean bakery chain preparing to open its third Hawaii store near the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The company, operated by South Korea’s SPC Group, has grown from a dominant bakery brand at home into a rapidly expanding North American franchise. It now operates about 200 stores across the U.S. and Canada and wants to reach 1,000 locations by 2030.
That goal requires Paris Baguette to do more than attract customers already familiar with Korean food and culture. It needs to become an everyday bakery and cafe for a much broader group of Americans. Moving into a major college district gives the company access to students, faculty members and nearby residents who can generate repeat demand for breakfast, coffee, sandwiches and snacks throughout the day.
The new store is scheduled to open before the end of the year at the Waianuenue ma Kapaakea shopping center in Honolulu. The location is within easy reach of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the flagship campus of the state’s public university system.
Paris Baguette entered Hawaii last year with its first store on Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu. Its expansion to three stores in roughly a year has taken the chain from a business and tourist district into a neighborhood built around daily local traffic.
The company plans to adapt the new location to that customer base. Alongside its fresh cream cakes and pastries, the store will carry a larger selection of grab and go sandwiches and drinks aimed at students looking for quick meals between classes.
Paris Baguette has based much of its overseas growth strategy on combining breads and pastries baked in stores with cakes, coffee and cafe style seating. It has also introduced products tailored to local tastes as it tries to turn a concept developed in South Korea into a scalable international franchise.
Hawaii offers an attractive early market because its population is culturally diverse and relatively familiar with Asian food. But the company’s larger ambition extends far beyond the islands.
Reaching 1,000 North American stores will depend on whether Paris Baguette can become part of the daily routine of consumers who may have little connection to Korea at all. Its move into a Hawaii college neighborhood is another step toward finding out.
