Trendy bakeries meet convenience store shelves at E-mart24's Seoul Forest dessert lab

Interview with Park Mi-i, E-mart24 bakery team MD

She led collaborations with master baker Park Jun-seo and food influencer Bbang Tube Pponi

'The dessert category is the most attractive battleground we can't afford to miss'

Park Mi-i, merchandise director of E-mart24's bakery team, poses for a photo after an interview at the Dessert Lab Seoul Forest store in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on June 26. [Provided by E-mart24]

"The most rewarding moment is when a product earns lasting love rather than just a brief flash of popularity amid all the flashy desserts out there."

E-mart24's Dessert Lab Seoul Forest store has opened in the heart of the Seoul Forest district, one of the city's most competitive trend battlegrounds. Over the past three months, the store has served as E-mart24's dessert testing ground, giving rise to signature products developed with popular eateries Chipre and Ouer Bakery, as well as differentiated items drawing on the expertise of master confectioners and bakers.

Park Mi-i, merchandise director of E-mart24's bakery team, has been leading the experiments at the Dessert Lab Seoul Forest store. "The most important thing is striking a balance between quickly reflecting the latest trends and maintaining the mass appeal and reasonable prices that suit a convenience store channel," Park said in an interview on Friday. She added that even the most buzzworthy and well-crafted product is difficult to commercialize if it is not in a form and at a price that convenience store customers can enjoy without hesitation.

One of her signature achievements is the Park Jun-seo Master Baker Castella Fresh Cream Bread, which debuted in late March. The product was developed in collaboration with Park Jun-seo, the 11th recipient of South Korea's master confectioner and baker designation. "It is rare for someone to share their own recipe, but Master Baker Park even shared his know-how directly with the manufacturer," she said. "We had been preparing since last year to meet the high standards he set, and the result was a truly excellent product."

The item shot to second place in overall dessert category sales for April and May immediately after its launch. The top seller was the steady-selling Dubai Chewy Cookie. "In the fast-moving dessert market, sales often slow after just a month, but Master Baker Park's bread has continued to hold a top position," Park said. "It has become a reliable bestseller with repeat purchases coming in steadily."

Seasonal collaboration products with dessert influencer Bbang Tube Pponi have also become a signature offering. Ideation work with Pponi begins three to four months before each product launch. Among the items released, the Beomuri Chaltteok Bread stands out for containing a whole piece of chewy glutinous rice cake inside — unlike conventional cream breads.

Collaboration products with food influencer Bbang Tube Pponi on sale at E-mart24's Dessert Lab Seoul Forest store. [Jin Kim]

"After a lot of trial and error, we decided to create a dough that actually incorporates the glutinous rice cake," Park said. "It was only possible because the product's sales were guaranteed, and fortunately it was very well received after launch." She went on to say that the team tries not to simply replicate trending items as they are. "We are creating that one defining difference unique to E-mart24 products — by recombining popular elements in new ways or maximizing texture," she said.

Another strength of the Dessert Lab Seoul Forest store is its Special Dessert Zone, which greets customers the moment they walk in. The concept grew out of the idea of selling signature products from well-known eateries not found in the Seoul Forest area at reasonable prices. After introducing a two-piece soufflé cake from Chipre, the store recently began carrying Ouer Bakery's Dirty Choco.

As a result, the Dessert Lab Seoul Forest store recorded average daily sales 54 percent higher than other E-mart24 stores in the roughly three months from its opening on March 13 through June 21. Average daily customer traffic was also 69 percent higher over the same period. E-mart24's cumulative dessert product sales from January through May this year rose 294 percent compared with the same period last year.

The push continues in the second half of the year. "We plan to keep expanding collaborations with buzzworthy dessert brands, centered on the Special Dessert Zone," Park said. "We will also be launching differentiated E-mart24 products developed in collaboration with Jangin Hangwa, which has been hugely popular among younger consumers."

In closing, Park said: "In terms of drawing in the trend-sensitive teens-to-30s generation and keeping the brand image young and fresh, the dessert category is the most attractive battleground in the convenience store industry — one we simply cannot afford to miss. We will lower the barriers and bring the trends that once required a long trip and a wait in line right to the E-mart24 convenience store at your doorstep."

Ouer Bakery's Dirty Choco on sale at the Special Dessert Zone inside E-mart24's Dessert Lab Seoul Forest store. [Jin Kim]

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