Paris Baguette goes global with hangul at the forefront

Paris Baguette said Thursday it is expanding its reach with customers at home and abroad by leading with hangul brand names, packaging and marketing campaigns.

Paran Label, its health-focused bakery brand, has surpassed cumulative sales of 34 million units since launching last year. After its overseas debut at the Paragon store in Singapore in February, the brand has since expanded to all Paris Baguette locations across the city-state. The hangul brand name "Paran Label" is used as-is in the local market.

The company is also continuing its "K-Pava" brand vision, unveiled last year to mark the 80th anniversary of Sangmidang, the bakery that Paris Baguette traces its heritage to. The name stretches the vowel in "Pava" — the brand's Korean nickname — to signal an ambition to lead the global bakery market the way K-pop has. Drawing on the baking heritage of Sangmidang, founded in 1945, the lineup features products made with traditional Korean ingredients, including a patented native-yeast bread and a gochujang bulgogi sandwich. The K-Pava flagship store is the Paris Baguette Gwanghwamun 1945 location.

The Korean greeting "annyeong" is also being used as a marketing keyword domestically and internationally. In Korea, the company released a Chuseok gift set this year carrying the "Annyeong K-Pava" message. Developed in collaboration with calligraphy artist Kim So-young of Geulssi-dang, the packaging features traditional knot patterns and designs inspired by Hunminjeongeum, the original hangul script. Overseas, Paris Baguette is running an "Annyeong" campaign across Southeast Asia to introduce K-food and K-bakery products to the region.

"As global interest in K-bakery grows beyond K-pop and K-drama series, hangul has become more than just a brand script — it is a symbol that conveys Korean culture and sensibility," a Paris Baguette official said. "Through campaigns built around hangul, we will share what makes Paris Baguette unique with customers at home and around the world."