Korean bakeries combine the artistry of traditional French pâtisseries with traditional Korean flavors, including kimchi, to produce baked goods that Americans are increasingly embracing. Exports of South Korean baked goods to the global market last year hit nearly $2 billion, a two-fold increase over the past decade. The biggest piece of that pie is the U.S. market, which received 24 percent of all Korean baked goods exports last year, a 36 percent increase over the previous year. This has outstripped the overall growth of the U.S. retail bakery sector, which is predicted to expand at a rate of 3.5 percent through next year.

This coincides with Americans’ increasing uptake of Korean cultural exports in general. Korean overtook Italian to become the sixth-most-studied language last year.  Earlier this year Coca-Cola released a “fruity fantasy” K-wave limited flavor edition. Korean-language dramas are the most-streamed foreign content on Netflix. This year’s KCON, the annual festival of K-pop and Korean culture, was televised live for the first time.

This surge in interest among Americas has fueled growth plans for our Tous Les Jours (“every day” in French) Korean bakeries in the U.S. We have more than 100 bakeries across the U.S., double the number of five years ago. We plan to open 1,000 U.S. stores by 2030. To supply these bakeries with U.S.-made goods, we are investing in a $47 million bakery and food processing plant in Georgia, which will open in 2025 and make more than 19,000 tons of product each year. Tous Les Jours was named a Top 50 Contender by QSR magazine.

We know Americans loved baked goods, but what is driving them to increasingly choose Korean bakeries?

We believe part of the reason is a knock-on effect of the American interest in K-culture in general. The Korean movies and TV dramas that Americans increasingly watch frequently feature Korean cuisine, including baked goods. K-dramas and movies have impacted the growth of Korean beauty products in the U.S., as well. That market is projected to grow at a nearly 9 percent rate over the next few years.

Another reason is the wide selection that Korean bakeries offer. A typical American bakery generally displays about 100 different items for sale. Korean bakeries will feature significantly more. Tous Les Jours bakeries offer more than 300 items for sale. In addition to pastries, cakes and other baked good and several items associated with breakfast and snacks, our bakeries cater to customers throughout the day, offering sandwiches as well. Korean bakeries also tend to be self-serve, allowing customers to avoid long lines at the checkout counter.

In the end, though, it always comes back to taste and imagination. Korean bakeries seem to have identified a sweet spot that fuses Korean and American tastes and culture, offering goods that are familiar yet novel.

Some goods are specifically designed to showcase the ethnic flavor line of Korean bakeries, which are based on authentic Korean ingredients and recipes. For example, the kimchi croquette is a savory pastry filled with spicy fermented cabbage, a staple of Korean cuisine. Demonstrating Americans’ increasing appetite for K-cuisine, Tous Les Jours’ kimchi croquette is a top seller in our U.S. stores. The same is true with our red bean bread, a soft bun stuffed with sweet red bean paste, a common filling for many Asian desserts.

At the same time, Korean bakeries adapt their products to suit the local market and meet customer expectations. For instance, our sesame bread—a chewy, tapioca-filled dough with sesame seeds, popular in Korea—was underperforming with American customers. But we knew that doughnuts are a popular breakfast and snack item in America. So, we fried the sesame bread dough and added glaze and toppings, transforming a traditional Korean bread into an American-friendly product that boosted sales.

Korean bakeries that have been successful in the U.S. also recognize the difference between American and Korean consumer patterns. American customers tend to prefer classic and familiar items, while Korean customers quickly hop onto new bakery and pastry trends. That’s why the chocolate croissant still rules American Tous Les Jours while customers at Korea’s Tous Les Jours stores may prefer the trendier “crookie,” a hybrid of croissant and cookie.

The successful fusion of American and Korean tastes and cultures—buoyed by the rising tide of popular K-culture films, TV shows and music—has driven the growth of Korean bakeries in the U.S. We believe this trend will continue in the decade to come.

Tony Hunsoo Ahn is the CEO of CJ Foodville USA, parent company of Tous Les Jours.