Uni-President Oven Bakery Corp (統一聖娜多堡), operator of the Semeur De Pain bakery chain, said yesterday it was expanding its product lines by offering coffee, tea and pastries to reach out to a younger market.
With more than 1,000 traditional bakeries in Taiwan forced to close down over the past two years amid rising international commodity prices and lackluster domestic consumption, Semeur De Pain said it planned to buck the trend by offering a combination bakery and coffee shop in one to maximize its consumer base.
“Semeur De Pain aims to lower its consumer age base, which is currently focused on those between 30 and 45, to include young housewives and office workers in their 20s,” Richard Lee (李炎生), vice president of Uni-President Oven Bakery, said at a press conference yesterday.
Semeur De Pain has 24 outlets in Taiwan and itnends to boost this figure to 30 by the end of the year.
Bakery and drinks are currently on offer only at its outlet near the Siaobitan (小碧潭) MRT station, but the company wants to replicate this new concept to its other outlets, depending on their location.
With commodity prices continuing to rise, Lee said that cost control was a challenge.
He added that Semeur De Pain had tried to keep cost increases within 10 percent through group purchases and resource sharing.
He acknowledged however that the company may be forced to raise prices later.
“A price hike is unavoidable, but the company will try to absorb as much of the cost as possible,” Lee said.
Semeur De Pain is a joint venture between the nation’s largest convenience store chain operator, President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), and the leading local food manufacturer, Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業).
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