제 16 호 Knotted, What Makes It So Attractive?
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Knotted, What Makes It So Attractive?
By Da-Hwee Kim, Editor-in-chief
Compared to the past, domestic dessert culture has developed a lot. Especially these days, there are strange situations where dessert costs more than the cost of the meal. Nevertheless, the younger generation is crazy about desserts. In Korea, there are many dessert brands for sure, but there is one brand we will focus on today: Knotted. Have you ever tried it? If you belong to the MZ generation, you have probably eaten it at least once. Even if you have not tried it, I think you have at least heard of the name! Among the numerous bakeries in Korea, what is the reason Knotted continues to be popular? Let's dig together into what strategy is hiding and what we can learn from it.https://www.gffg.co.kr
Introduction to the brand: Knotted
Knotted is a follow-up brand created by GFFG(Good Food For Good) CEO Lee Joon-beom while he started his restaurant brand business with 'Downtowner'. Its first bakery store opened in 2017, and currently has stores in many places including Seoul.
At first, it started as a bakery, but as donuts became more popular, it developed a donut-specific menu. In the case of design, it became more famous through social media as it was changed to a cute American vintage cartoon concept. Currently, 30,000 donuts are sold a day. However, they say that it was not so successful from the beginning, so what is the secret to its success now?
What made Knotted so successful?
Strategy key #1 - 'Collaboration'
GFFG evokes the freshness of the brand and expands the customer base through collaboration with illustrators and other brands. Sugar Bear, the representative character of Cafe Knotted, is said to have been created through collaboration with illustrator 'YISLOW'. Cafe Knotted sells goods, such as dolls and stationery, with 'Sugar Bear' drawn on it, and as of 2021, it accounted for 5% of the cafe's total sales. Judging from these results, it can be seen that the impact of cute characters on business is by no means small.
In addition, GFFG is presenting collaborative products and events with various companies such as Lotte Confectionery, Orion, GS25, Samsung Electronics, and Musinsa. These collaborative products with food manufacturers and distributors serve to expand GFFG's customer base nationwide.
Strategy key #2 - 'Unique experiences’
GFFG has upgraded the in-store customer experience, and customers continue to visit despite the pandemic. All brands of GFFG stand for ‘American taste’. This is because CMO Heo Jun's 16 years of study in the United States inspired the development of the brand and menu by the food he ate on a daily basis. He also explained, "GFFG's American color came as a different experience to the MZ generation. In terms of service, we are approaching our customers in a differentiated way. In particular, we manage to turn the culture of standing in line, which many customers find unpleasant, into a positive experience. We are trying to minimize customer dissatisfaction that may arise during the waiting process, such as introducing a system that automatically manages the waiting list or putting hot packs on cold days. In addition, by designing various experience spaces, such as providing pretty goods in the waiting line, the ‘psychological time’ experienced while waiting in line is reduced.”
Strategy key #3 is 'Fandom Formation'
These days, the younger generation is crazy about Instagram. And Knotted uses this point very well. Knotted's stores are composed of colorful interiors, making consumers feel as if they are in an amusement park. As the characters and concepts are clearly established, it seems to create this kind of atmosphere. Thanks to that, it was known as a place that came out pretty well when taking pictures.
In order to spread the brand image faster, influencers were actively used, and the result was a great success. Influencers with enormous influence on social media naturally exposed Knotted on their accounts, and a fandom was formed.
Strategy key #4 is 'Concentration on Offline Market'
Knotted's two brand principles are 'offline' and 'scarcity'. Despite the increasing popularity these days, there are a lot of franchise inquiries, the reason why only Knotted directly managed stores are operated is to control the scarcity quality. At a time when many brands are shifting their focus online due to the pandemic, Knotted's strategy is different. Knotted is constantly investing in brick-and-mortar facilities to provide a better customer experience. It is to ensure that popularity online does not burn for a short time, but lasts for a long time.
What can we learn from the examples of these successful companies? I think that each of you will have a lot of things to see and feel about the company's success stories. But above all, I think the attitude that we must apply to our lives is continuous self-development and an attitude of taking on challenges without fear of failure.
Sources:
https://www.gffg.co.kr/gffgBrand.html?id=%EB%85%B8%ED%8B%B0%EB%93%9C
https://contents.premium.naver.com/branding/brandsecrets/contents/220709161618612xz
