GARIGUETTE opens first store in Korea

GARIGUETTE CEO Eitaro Siga [Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

Japanese specialty pastry shop GARIGUETTE has made its debut in South Korea. In Japan, customers often wait for up to an hour on weekdays and two hours on weekends to purchase the company’s uniquely crafted mille-feuille pastry, and to mark the opening of its first store in Korea and its second international location, GARIGUETTE CEO Eitaro Siga paid a visit to Korea.

Siga signed a contract with Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch and inaugurated the first GARIGUETTE store in Korea in Sweet Park, the largest dessert specialty section within the department store, on Thursday. Sweet Park opened on the same day as the GARIGUETTE branch and the corner has already topped 3 trillion won ($2.26 billion) in sales, breaking the record for a single-store revenue in Korea since it was restructured for the first time in 15 years.

Expressing confidence in entering the Korean dessert market, Siga emphasized the company’s unique selling point of providing a sensory experience by showcasing the production process firsthand. He told Maeil Business Newspaper, “Stimulating all five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch – is our distinctive strength.”

Mille-feuille, a French premium dessert, traditionally involves layering fruit and cream between slices of puff pastry, allowing the pastry to absorb moisture over time and resulting in a moist texture. GARIGUETTE reinterpreted the concept by creating a multi-layered, crisp pastry filled with custard and strawberries that maintains both crunchiness and sweetness.

GARIGUETTE opened its first store in Omotesando, Tokyo’s bustling district, in 2021. The store’s immense popularity led to subsequent stores in Osaka, Kyoto, and Fukuoka, and the brand expanded globally by opening its first overseas store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, in September 2023. Operating over 20 directly managed stores, including GARIGUETTE, with five subsidiaries in Japan, the company reported a revenue of 2.8 billion yen in 2023.