You may have heard of 85°C Bakery Cafe, the sweet-smelling bakery around the corner with various pastries all at a shockingly affordable price. They’re a staple to city-dwellers who need a quick grab-and-go snack or are seeking a place to pass the time with friends. It’s hard to resist the unique cakes, teas, smoothies, and more as you step foot in one of the cafes! If you’ve never heard of this bakery, it boasts over a thousand locations worldwide, and you may expect one to pop up in your area as well. This bakery has made a name with its quality loaves of bread at a cheap price, but what is 85°C’s success story? Where did all of this start?
Seventeen years ago in Taiwan, a small cafe nestled in a five-star hotel piqued the interest of Mr. Cheng-Hsueh Wu, founder of 85°C Bakery. Despite the opulent arrangements and rich flavor of the desserts, Mr. Wu noted the heavy price tag on these premium goods. From then on, it became his goal to establish a trendy, up-scale bakery that lowered all bakery goods to an extremely affordable price. 85°C opened its doors at its first U.S. location in Irvine, California. It became a major hotspot as it boasted 5,000 Yelp reviews and lines out the door overnight, living up to its brand of being “premium at a cheap price.” In July of 2004, the first location opened in Taipei County, Taiwan (now New Taipei). The name 85°C originated from the belief that coffee was best served at that temperature.
It’s 1000th location later opened in Houston, Texas in July of 2017, marking a huge milestone in the bakery’s quick-paced expansion. Back in 2015, the bakery chain was recognized as one of Taiwan’s Best Global Brands for the fifth year in a row, being the first bakery cafe franchise to achieve this honor. Despite most of the franchise’s revenue coming from mainland China (67%) and Taiwan (18%), the average U.S. store than $700,000 in monthly sales, or seven times more than the average store in China. For a long time, the monumental worldwide success of 85°C has given its nickname “the Starbucks of Taiwan.” Some of their trendiest items include the egg tart, signature sea salt drink, and the Pork Sung bun. Pork sung, a meat floss that’s light and fluffy is a food item originating from China and rarely consumed in the West. Incorporating this into baked goods and making it enjoyable to the western public is just one example of 85°C ‘s cultural success outside of Taiwan.
The inspiring message of making quality sweets affordable is a small movement that contributes to the eradication of classism, making premium consumer goods accessible to the public instead of restricting to only the wealthy class. As 85°C Bakery continues to expand to this day, it’s also crucial to acknowledge Asian representation in the competitive entrepreneurship of the U.S., where the huge consumer market makes competition especially strong. Next time you the compelling origins that brought it to your location!