"We’re Further Strengthening Our Bakery Competitiveness": CU Rebrands with Differentiated Brand BAKE405

[Financial News] CU is rebranding its differentiated bakery brand Bakehouse (BAKEHOUSE) 405 as BAKE405, three years after its launch. The company plans to strengthen its convenience-store bakery competitiveness by revamping its products and packaging.
According to industry sources on the 3rd, CU is changing the name of Bakehouse 405, which it launched in August 2023, to BAKE405. New packaging and products will be introduced sequentially.
Bakehouse 405 has expanded its product lineup through collaborations with master baker Lee Seok-won and French dairy brand Paysan Breton, among others. Cumulative sales have surpassed 35 million units since its launch. Sales of CU’s differentiated bakery products rose 35.3% year on year in 2024 and 29.2% in the previous year, while they increased another 14.8% from January through August this year.
For its first rebranded products, CU will introduce the Marble Cream Series, inspired by babka, a traditional European bread. Starting this month with Marble Chocolate Cream Bread, the company will sequentially launch Marble Lemon Peach Cream Bread, Marble Strawberry Condensed Milk Cream Bread, and Marble Cinnamon Maple Cream Bread.
Shin Eun-ji, a merchandise planner on BGF Retail’s snack and food team, said, "Through this rebranding, we will offer customers a new and differentiated bakery experience based on the product competitiveness we have built up, and lead the convenience-store bakery market."
[email protected] Kim Hyun-ji Reporter