Coin cakes (also known as 10 won cakes) are a popular snack originating from Korea. When they appeared in Vietnam last September, they quickly created a "fever", becoming a popular gift for customers to enjoy and buy.
The coin cake is about 10cm in diameter and costs 35,000 VND/piece. At the time of its popularity, although the price of this cake was equal to the price of a bowl of beef noodle soup, it was still sought after by many diners, willing to line up and wait for several hours to buy it.
However, after only 1 or 2 months of "making waves", coin cakes quickly fell into a state of "out of fashion" and lack of customers. Because many diners after enjoying this cake once commented that they did not want to buy it a second time because with that amount of money spent, "it would be better to eat a bowl of pho".
“At 35,000 VND per piece and with the time I had to wait, it was really not worth what I spent to enjoy the cheese coin cake. I would rather spend that amount of money to eat a bowl of pho, which is both filling and delicious and more worth it,” said Huyen Duong, a customer.
Sharing the same opinion, Ngoc Duy, a customer who waited for more than 3-4 hours to experience the coin cake, said that at first, most people ate the coin cake out of curiosity about the taste, mainly to know. According to Duy, with the price of 35,000 VND/piece, customers have many other better options.
“I have only eaten it once, it is quite greasy. It is okay to eat it right away, but if left for a long time, it becomes dry and hard, and the cheese cannot be pulled into strings. It is okay to eat it occasionally for fun, but I cannot eat it for a long time,” Ngoc Duy said.
Quynh Anh, owner of a coin cake shop in Hoi Vu (Hanoi), shared that when it first opened, there were days when the shop's revenue reached 60 million VND. At that time, the shop had no time to rest, selling from noon to evening, producing 1,800 - 2,000 cakes each day.
However, after only about 2 months, the amount of coin cakes sold by this shop each day was no longer as stable as before. “The number of customers suddenly dropped to 200 - 400 cakes per day, only 1/4 of the amount of cakes sold compared to before.
Sales were so low that I had to sell more types of cakes with unique shapes to attract customers," Quynh Anh confided.
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Many shop owners have had to change their business models and create new cakes to retain customers after the coin cakes became "feverish" (Photo: Kim Ngan)
Mr. Cuong, the owner of several cheese coin cake shops in Hanoi, has just franchised one of his shops after noticing that this cake is showing signs of "cooling down".
“I franchised a store because the number of customers is not as high as before, but my remaining stores still maintain a stable number of customers. Because I have my own premises, the recipes and fillings are also creative and change regularly, so I still maintain a certain number of customers.
Selling cakes according to trends is difficult in the long run, but if you sell with passion and are willing to change and innovate, I think you can still survive in the long run," Mr. Cuong shared.
Not only in Hanoi, shops and cheese coin cake stalls in Ho Chi Minh City also recorded a sluggish situation, with only a few customers coming to buy. Those who "followed the trend" to sell this cake also had to sadly bear the loss, some had to liquidate machinery and transfer premises because the business situation was not very positive.
Ms. T, the owner of a cheese coin cake cart on Phan Van Tri Street (Go Vap District) shared: “Seeing that this cake suddenly became so popular, I took the opportunity to open a shop to meet customer demand and earn extra income. But since the end of October, the number of customers has decreased significantly, only a handful. Because I just opened a shop, I still have to try to stick with it, until I see that I can't hold on anymore, then I will think about it,” she said.
Because it is a busy, bustling street with a high population density, Phan Van Tri is considered a culinary business paradise. That is the reason why this street has countless cheese coin cake carts springing up like mushrooms since this cake became a "hot trend".
“When I first opened, I couldn’t bake enough cakes to sell, now I have to wait for several hours for 1-2 customers. Although it’s a bit discouraging, selling cakes according to the trend, I can predict this day.
The investment cost for the vehicle, materials and other things is also more than ten million, fortunately up to now there is a profit. Now we just keep selling, let's see the situation and then decide what to do next", Mr. S - the owner of a coin cake cart also on Phan Van Tri street confided.
Kim Ngan - Nhu Khanh
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