Swissman Gregoire Michaud is planning big in 2025 with the launch of stores in New Territories, Bakehouse brand swag, and an expansion in Asia.
Every day, Bakehouse bakes and sells 30,000 sourdough egg tarts to customers. That averages nearly 11 million plump tarts sold annually, filled with sugary custard and offering the perfect crunch.
The story of Bakehouse’s signature item, a decadent symbol of Hong Kong’s food scene, was one of pure coincidence.
On the first floor of his Wan Chai bakery, the chain’s first location, co-founder of Bakehouse Gregoire Michaud states his brand’s journey has rarely been planned out. “We have been through 12 years of trial and error,” he chuckles.
“We opened Bakehouse in Wan Chai in March 2018. In the first two weeks, we were selling maybe 10 loaves of bread, a few croissants, and some pastries. Within a month, from word of mouth, we blew up and had a queue down both sides of the road. We asked ourselves, how are we going to sustain this?”
Their main selling item was a plain croissant, a beloved pastry of Gregoire. By lunchtime, they would sell out, but with masses of extra dough left behind after cutting the triangle shapes to form their European-styled croissants. “We had tons of dough in the freezer and we didn’t want to throw it away.”
“I woke up one morning and, in a split second, thought about egg tarts. I really love the Hong Kong egg tarts, it’s flaky, fatty, and sugary. But, I did not want to match [Bakehouse’s] egg tarts with the Hong Kong style, I want our own Bakehouse style.”
“We handle our sourdough egg tarts differently than any other regular pastry. The filling requires attention to the balance of fat and sugar, how long we bake it, and the metal of the tray we use to bake it. We use an alloy metal tray so that the shell of the egg tart becomes crispy and the sugar floats to top and caramelizes. The most simple things to create are actually the most complicated.”
The moment Bakehouse launched their sourdough egg tarts, “it took off like crazy,” Gregoire remembers.
Arguably, no food brand has come close in Hong Kong to emulating or replicating the success Bakehouse has had with their takeaway bag, a cobalt blue minimalist design featuring a number of joyful figures captured in daily life. Their logo and bag have become synonymous with weekend-tripping visitors and dessert-hungry Hong Kongers.
In 2018, Bakehouse’s logo consisted of 16 circles set up in a four by four lattice. Their branding was largely coloured black and white.
When Bakehouse branched out to Soho in October 2020, their all-blue iconography was born. “Institictively, people think about the colour brown, yellow, or red when they think about bakeries. No bakery brand picks blue, but we wanted to be different.”
“We absolutely never imagined that people would carry [our bags] as a symbol of social status in the streets.”
After a victorious entrance into the New Territories market with their Sha Tin opening in early January, Gregoire’s plan to delight Hong Kong is strong in 2025.
“The plan has always been to open up 10 Bakehouse locations in Hong Kong, and continue outside of the city. We want to ensure our base is secure and operational at home.”
With their sourdough egg tart fandom reaching feverpitch, Gregoire’s next phase for Bakehouse is to consolidate the bakery chain into a larger lifestyle brand. He also hints at the launch of a catering business arm to bring Bakehouse into the board room or junk boat.
“As a bakery, the enjoyment of our products is often consumed within minutes. We want to create a lasting connection, allowing our community to engage with Bakehouse on a deeper level and carry that connection with them, beyond the walls of our bakery and outside of Hong Kong.”
Gregoire is secretive about his plans for Bakehouse’s entrance into the larger Asia market, but promises fans to sit tight for openings across the continent in the near future.
Get a taste of Bakehouse across Hong Kong for their signature sourdough egg tarts and plates.
