The bakery-café chain’s Canada debut follows strong sales in the US, with a new bakery production facility is expected to support further North America growth from 2025
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A TOUS Les JOURS store in New Haven, Connecticut, USA | Photo credit: Tous Les Jours International
TOUS les JOURS has made its first foray into the Canadian market with a store in Calgary. The new outlet trades from within an H Mart supermarket, a pan-Asian grocery specialist that also partners with TOUS Les JOURS at several US sites.
Canada marks the South Korean bakery-café chain’s eighth country globally and will serve as a ‘springboard for continued growth throughout North America and beyond’, the company said in a press release.
“Following our 100th US opening and the announcement of our first North American factory, we are ready to debut TOUS les JOURS in The Great White North and continue growing the brand throughout the Western Hemisphere,” said Tony Hunsoo Ahn, CEO of TOUS les JOURS International.
Launched in South Korea in 1997, TOUS les JOURS began franchising in the US in 2004 and currently operates 102 stores across the country. The brand is managed by parent company CJ Foodville and currently operates around 1,700 stores globally, the majority of which are in its native market. The bakery-café chain also has a presence in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Mongolia.
TOUS Les JOURS is not the only French-inspired South Korean bakery-café chain seeking growth in North America. Paris Baguette America made its
Canada debut in March 2023 with a store in Toronto. In June, the bakery-café chain announced plans to open six further outlets in the ‘prime’ Canadian market and
reach 100 stores by 2030. Paris Baguette has also said it is ‘on track’
to reach 180 US stores by the end of 2023.
TOUS les JOURS and Paris Baguette entered the US market in 2004 and 2005 respectively and are both targeting 1,000 stores in the country by 2030.
In May 2023 TOUS les JOURS posted a 56.8% rise in first quarter US sales, with profits jumping 250% compared to the same period in 2022. The following September parent company CJ Foodville announced plans to invest $45m in a new production facility to support its US growth plans. The 969,000sq ft factory in Georgia is expected to produce more than 100 million units of bread and cakes every year and is scheduled for completion by 2025.