PICK BAKE, an egg tart brand in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, is quickly widening its customer base by word of mouth. Analysts say its approach — baking in store rather than distributing frozen products, using a high-performance oven system — is driving a high repeat-visit rate.

PICK BAKE uses a 10-tier rotary oven that precisely controls high temperature and humidity, baking egg tarts in batches of 250 from every morning. According to PICK BAKE’s technical sales staff, the rotating trays distribute heat evenly so the top, bottom and sides of each tart bake uniformly. This is the greatest strength of the 10-tier rotary oven: it maintains the same quality as if each egg tart were baked individually with care.

“Rather than relying on the machine, we check the oven’s temperature and humidity every day before opening and inspect the bake ourselves,” said main director and pâtissier Kim Young-jun. “We stick to the principle that if quality drops even slightly, we throw it out and bake again.”

An egg tart has to be crisp outside and soft inside to taste right. That is why PICK BAKE chose same-day baking over distribution efficiency. By baking frozen dough right in the store, it achieves the taste of a “real egg tart” — crisp outside and creamy inside.

Thanks to these strict principles and techniques, customer reviews keep coming in — “I was surprised how crispy the outside was,” “My parents asked me to get some to take home” — and spontaneous social media posts are growing.

PICK BAKE currently runs its first standalone store near Seoul Forest and plans to expand through franchising. Every day from 9 to 11 a.m., it also offers the “Pick Morning Set”: an egg tart and an Americano for KRW 5,000 (approx. ¥590).

Source: E-Donga (https://edu.donga.com)

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