Latest news with #Bakehouse
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Some food places thrive in Hong Kong, but others fail. Is there a recipe for success?
On a typical weekday in Hong Kong, as a typhoon loomed, customers braved the rain outside a Bakehouse branch in Causeway Bay, waiting to enter the social-media viral bakery, known for its sourdough egg tarts, artisanal breads and fresh pastries. It was a stark contrast to just weeks earlier in June, when Hong Kong's four-decade-old, home-grown Taipan Bread & Cakes, inventor of 'snow skin' mooncakes, closed its final branches. The closure came with an estimated debt of HK$16 million (US$2 million) in unpaid wages and severance. Brands like Bakehouse, mainland Chinese drinks chain Chagee and Korean eateries were identified as thriving in Hong Kong's slumping restaurant and retail market, taking over previously empty commercial spaces, according to property insiders. The reason for their current success, they said, was that they could offer what others had failed to grasp – novel experiences, unique and ever-new products, quality and finding the right balance between profit and expenditure amid a weak economy and growing numbers of online consumers. Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, also a businessman and founder of clothing brand G2000, highlighted the challenges faced by traditional retail outlets, particularly those competing on price with mainland e-commerce platforms such as Taobao. 'Retail models have changed drastically from the traditional sense,' he said.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Taste of success: out with the old, in with the novel among Hong Kong's food scene
On a typical weekday in Hong Kong, as a typhoon loomed, customers braved the rain outside a Bakehouse branch in Causeway Bay, waiting to enter the social-media viral bakery, known for its sourdough egg tarts, artisanal breads and fresh pastries. It was a stark contrast to just weeks earlier in June, when Hong Kong's four-decade-old, home-grown Taipan Bread & Cakes, inventor of 'snow skin' mooncakes, closed its final branches. The closure came with an estimated debt of HK$16 million (US$2 million) in unpaid wages and severance. Brands like Bakehouse, mainland Chinese drinks chain Chagee and Korean eateries were identified as thriving in Hong Kong's slumping restaurant and retail market, taking over previously empty commercial spaces, according to property insiders. The reason for their current success, they said, was that they could offer what others had failed to grasp – novel experiences, unique and ever-new products, quality and finding the right balance between profit and expenditure amid a weak economy and growing numbers of online consumers. Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, also a businessman and founder of clothing brand G2000, highlighted the challenges faced by traditional retail outlets, particularly those competing on price with mainland e-commerce platforms such as Taobao. 'Retail models have changed drastically from the traditional sense,' he said.
Daily Record
16-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Industrial estate fire hits production at much-loved Hamilton bakery
Cadzow Bakehouse has had to shut its two shops until further notice and halt production following Sunday's blaze at a neighbouring unit in Hillhouse industrial estate A much-loved Hamilton bakery has been forced to shut the doors of its two shops for now following a devastating fire at the industrial estate housing their production kitchen. Cadzow Bakehouse announced that they are closed until further notice after the loss of their bakery facilities at Hillhouse Industrial Estate – and that while they hope to resume baking when possible from their Hamilton shop at Quarry Street, they 'probably won't be able to open our Bothwell shop for a while'. The blaze broke out on Sunday morning at the three-unit Kilcreggan Court building off Argyle Crescent, with four fire crews racing to the scene to battle the smoke and flames. Download the Lanarkshire Live app today The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now. Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7. The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you. Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Cadzow Bakehouse's team say they will keep customers updated on any reopening plans but that currently 'all baking has halted' – and say they have had to let go four members of staff due to the indefinite closure of the shop on Main Street in Bothwell as a result of reduced production capacity. They told in a social media video how the fire had started in an adjacent unit to theirs and said: 'The building is not in a good way; it has been deemed structually unsafe and we are not going to be getting back into it. 'We're waiting to find out if they'll let us in to salvage our equipment, and if they do we will be moving production back to our Hamilton shop like we did in the good old days when we first started. It means that we would only be able to make a reduced amount, and it means that we probably won't be able to open our Bothwell shop for a while. 'We have had to let four of our staff members go, not through any fault of theirs – it's a complete random act of god. It absolutely sucks.' They asked for followers' help in finding new posts for the affected staff, saying: 'We have some amazing people in need of employment. We would hire them back in a heartbeat; we just don't have jobs for them.' Now the Bakehouse team are contacting those who have placed bespoke orders and made bookings for their popular bread-making workshops at the Hillhouse location, and said: 'We're trying to figure out alternatives right now and hopefully we'll know more in the next couple of weeks. They praised the 'fantastic' emergency services who responded to the fire and added: 'No-one was hurt; it could have been a lot worse. It's just such a horrible, random act that no-one could predict or have prevented. 'We can't give a fixed date but we'll hopefully be back in Hamilton as soon as we can.' A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: 'We were alerted at 11.28am on Sunday, July 13, to reports of a building fire on Argyle Crescent in Hamilton. 'Operations Control mobilised four appliances to the scene, where firefighters extinguished a fire affecting a commercial property. There were no reported casualties, and crews left the scene after ensuring the area was made safe.' Kilcreggan Court's units are owned by South Lanarkshire Council, who said of the three fire-damaged properties: 'We are currently looking at the options available to relocate these tenants. 'The council will continue to work with the loss adjusters who will take the appropriate steps to determine the future of the building.' * Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
The Standard
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Standard
Survival of the fittest: why innovation is vital for F&B industry
Bakehouse, founded by Swiss Grégoire Michaud, sells some 670 egg tarts and other goods daily, allowing it to survive amid the rising rent.
Economic Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Butter's global price surge hits croissants and kitchens alike
Synopsis This scarcity forces businesses like Mamiche in Paris and Bakehouse in Hong Kong to absorb higher costs or seek alternative suppliers. iStock Butter prices in most of the world are lingering near record highs, with little end in sight to the surge. At the Mamiche bakeries in the 9th and 10th arrondissements of Paris, their famous pains au chocolat and croissants depend on an essential but increasingly scarce ingredient — butter. The bakery's regular supplier can no longer provide a steady flow of French beurre de tourage, a type of flat butter used to make the pastries. Mamiche has gone searching elsewhere to ensure the steady flow of sweet treats from its ovens, but it's coming with a cost. Butter prices in most of the world are lingering near record highs, with little end in sight to the surge. It's the result of a complex interplay of factors — challenges faced by dairy farmers from France to New Zealand, changes in Asian consumers' appetites that's spurring global demand, and commercial decisions by milk processors defending their bottom end result is more cost pressure on consumers' favorite foods. 'When we have to change supplier, we can really see the difference' said Robin Orsoni, commercial operator for Mamiche. Other providers are charging prices 25% to 30% higher but Mamiche has to absorb the cost because 'we want to make our customers happy, we need the butter.' Around 70% of the butter exported around the world comes from two places — Europe and New Zealand. Each began 2025 with historically low stockpiles, and this supply tightness has caused prices to spike to a record, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. The roots of the squeeze can be traced back to 2022, when the price of milk in Europe peaked as inflation and fuel costs hit farmers hard, pushing dairy processors to look at the best way to maximize profits. Butter is made by removing cream from raw milk and churning it. Once the process is complete, you are left with butter and buttermilk, the latter of which 'has some industrial uses, but those are relatively limited,' said Monika Tothova, an economist at the FAO. It's used for some cooking, to make other dairy products, and for livestock feed. In contrast, 'if you make cheese, you process the entire volume of milk,' said Tothova. Even the by-product from cheese-making, called whey, is in high demand from commercial food makers for flavoring and nutrition, or gym enthusiasts to bulk out the protein in their Union dairy processors have making more and more cheese. As a result, the bloc's butter production has steadily declined and is expected to hit an eight-year low this season, according to estimates from the US Department of Agriculture. Milk production itself is also becoming more challenging. In Europe, farmers' herd sizes are shrinking due to financial pressures, and they now face added risks to their cows from bluetongue virus, said Jose Saiz, a dairy market analyst at price reporting agency Expana. Lumpy skin disease, which can curb an infected cows' milk yields, is also making its way into Italy and as butter has fallen out of favor with dairy processors, consumers are developing a stronger taste for it, particularly in consumption of butter is expected to grow 2.7% in 2025, outpacing production, according to the USDA. In China demand has already grown by 6% in just one year. Usage in Taiwan between 2024 and 2025 rose 4%, while in India, the world's largest consumer, it is up 3%. Hong Kong's French bakery chain, Bakehouse, has been tapping into Asian consumers changing tastes. Its annual butter use is currently about 180 tons, an increase of 96 tons from the prior year after they opened two new stores, in addition to another 180 tons of cream, according to co-founder Gregoire Michaud. The firm only buys from well established suppliers — New Zealand has a top-tier reputation but China isn't good enough yet, he said. In New Zealand, which is a major dairy exporter and produces about 2.5% of global milk supply, butter production has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, fluctuating around 500,000 tons a year since 2020. As in Paris, supply scarcity and high butter prices have forced Hong Kong's Bakehouse to cycle through three different providers in just a short period - from Australia, to New Zealand and then Belgium. Now they're potentially looking for a consumers are also eating more butter, which for years was shunned for being unhealthy, as they look to cut ultra-processed foods out of their diets. Purchases of pure block butter in the UK have grown, said Susie Stannard, lead dairy analyst at the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. 'Consumers who can afford it will still buy butter,'she said, but they aren't immune from price pressures. At the newly opened Morchella restaurant in London's Clerkenwell district, the brown butter and bread that was so popular at its sister eatery, Perilla in Newington Green, has been replaced with olive oil. Before the recent price hikes 'you'd put a lot of butter into the pan to base that piece of fish and meat,' said Ben Marks, who heads up the kitchens at Perilla. 'Now you've just got be much cleverer.'Relief for consumers isn't expected to come any time soon. Butter prices are also affected by the global conflicts, supply chain disruptions and tariff wars that have roiled every other commodity. Amid this 'very hot market,' Hong Kong's Bakehouse is now prioritizing butter from closer providers to avoid a loss of supply, said said Mamiche will absorb the higher cost of butter to keep French staples affordable for its customers, but Perilla's Marks said it's 'inevitable' that diners will face higher prices. The heat wave seen in Europe in recent weeks could also exacerbate the situation. High temperatures can reduce yields from diary cows, while also pushing up demand for other products that compete with butter for the fatty cream taken off the top of fans reaching for cream to accompany their strawberries as they watch Wimbledon, or workers cooling down with an ice cream in city plazas, 'can only hold butter prices up,' said Stannard.
