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A kiln-baked bakery in Hangzhou became popular thanks to social media. After one year of orders, the owner refused to expand production due to production capacity and heat. There was also controversy among the outside world as to whether this was hunger marketing.
A kiln-baked bakery in Hangzhou became popular due to social media, and orders were queued up for a year, making it the “hardest bakery to buy” in the region. The shop owner bakes sixty to seventy loaves of bread a day and insists on not expanding production capacity, which has led to questions about “hunger marketing”. In this regard, the store owner clearly admitted that the production capacity is indeed limited. “It’s not about how delicious the bread is, it’s about keeping up with the speed of the Internet.”
This bakery called “Gulu Ye Xinmu Shao” is located in Tinglan Street, Linping Art Town, Hangzhou. It adopts an online reservation system and does not offer on-site shopping. The owner of the shop belongs to the post-95 generation and has been engaged in bread making for more than ten years. After the studio was founded in 2022, there was almost no outside business for almost a year. Most of the baked bread was distributed to neighbors and friends. Opening a store was like a personal hobby.
In the winter of 2023, a food blogger introduced this store on social platforms. After the release of the video, orders increased rapidly. The original waiting time of about a month gradually increased to half a year, and now it takes at least a year. Customers have expanded from the areas around Linping to the entire country, and even consumers from Yanbian, Jilin and Xinjiang have placed orders.
Facing the question of “hunger marketing”, the store owner said that he deliberately chose a small customized oven and never planned to mass produce it. Although there are kilns with higher production capacity available in the market, he believes the specialty of kiln-baked bread lies in the heat. If work is done in a hurry to increase production, the taste may be affected.
The store currently offers four types of bread, priced from 48 to 70 yuan (RMB, same below). A maximum of two to three ovens are cooked per day, about sixty to seventy, which is the limit of production capacity. The production process is quite time consuming. The stone furnace must be heated to at least 400 degrees, and each oven is cooked for more than two hours. The first oven is usually cooked around 2 pm, and one has to wait until about 4 pm for the second oven.
Additionally, the bread must also undergo processes such as low-temperature fermentation with natural yeast, heating in a kiln, and baking with residual heat. The store owner believes that these processes set the upper limit of production, so he has no plans to replace major equipment.
He also admitted that he had thought about closing the store after it became popular. Originally, making bread was just to pass the time, but now I have to produce, order, and contact customers every day, and it has become a responsibility. However, when the order is closer to being scheduled he will contact customers one by one to confirm the pickup method, address and time. If someone can’t wait, he can also get a refund.
Customers have different feelings about this year-long wait. Ms Chen, who lives in Linping, was one of the first regular customers. He started shopping in 2023. At that time he had to stand in the queue for only one month. Nowadays, more and more orders are coming, and her mood is a bit complicated: “I am happy that my favorite treasure shop has been liked by more people, but I am disappointed because for the sake of fairness, regular customers have to line up honestly.”
After Xiao Zhou, a “post-00” man who ordered from Xinjiang, received the bread, he re-baked it in the oven according to the instructions. At the first bite, he could taste the burnt aroma on the outside, the aroma of wheat inside the bread, and the slight sourness of natural fermentation. She said frankly: “I can’t say it’s amazing, but it tastes like it was made with care. It’s completely different from the assembly line bread in the supermarket.” Although waiting a year is really an exaggeration, they feel it is worth it for the unique hand-made feel.
“Now everything is so fast. Takeaway arrives in half an hour, and express delivery arrives the next day. Even happiness is instant.” Xiao Ying, a customer in Shanghai, said with a smile that now she has to wait a year for something, which makes her feel a little hopeful.
However, not everyone thinks the year-long wait was worth it. Customer Xiao Jing said he and his friends both ordered the bread, but after receiving it, they felt the bread was not as amazing as expected. “Really, it’s just ordinary bread. It’s about the emotional value that people give to bread.” She thinks this time is mainly to try it out, and she probably won’t buy it again.
Summary FAQ
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The main reason is that it became increasingly popular after food bloggers introduced it on social platforms, and attracted consumers across the country to place orders. Stores take reservations online and have limited daily production. Demand far exceeds supply, so wait times have become longer.
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The shop owner said he chose a small custom-made oven from the beginning and did not plan to mass-produce it. They believe that bread cooked on the grate gives great importance to heat and taste. If work is rushed for the sake of speed, it will destroy the features of the product.
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Reactions are quite polarized: some think that the treasure trove has been seen by more people, and waiting will bring a sense of anticipation; Others feel that the bread itself is not amazing, but that its sentimental value is high, and after trying it they may not buy it again.
