Chapter 15: Contact Us Anytime

At the mention of a franchise, Yuha thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“Boss, the franchise market is oversaturated right now. Especially the bakery sector.”

Franchise stores come and go frequently in the current market.

Starting a new franchise and branding it in this environment?

It’s tough.

Not just tough, but very tough.

“No matter what strategy we use, it’ll be hard to secure a proper foothold unless we have a unique weapon.”

“Exactly. And even that weapon needs to effectively target consumers.”

“Right! And you still want to compete with a franchise?”

“Yup.”

Yuha didn’t ask further and quietly stared at the paper.

Even as silence hung in the air, I didn’t say a word.

I just waited.

Waited for Yuha to find the answer.

If she’s as capable as I know her to be, she’ll figure out the breakthrough I’ve found among the paths laid out.

Yuha stared intently at the paper before looking at me.

“Boss.”

“What?”

“I’m just guessing, but you’re not planning to do the same thing we did with the milling companies, are you?”

“Ha, hahaha!”

Her words made me burst out laughing.

Of course, that’s exactly it!

“You got it.”

She nailed the exact answer I had in mind—how could I not be thrilled?

Yuha looked at me, dumbfounded, and said,

“Seriously? Just like we picked up small milling companies one by one, you want to do the same with bakeries?”

“Of course, it won’t work exactly the same way. Bakeries are different—when they close, that’s the end.”

Milling companies leave behind equipment even if they go under, but bakeries are different.

The core of a bakery is its brand and the owner who runs it.

“We’ll gather those owners and turn them into a single franchise.”

This is the opposite of how franchises are typically built.

Instead of starting with one store and expanding to branches, we’re combining multiple stores into one from the start.

Yuha looked skeptical, as if questioning whether this was even feasible.

“Can you even call that a franchise? It lacks the key feature of a franchise.”

The biggest feature of a franchise is uniform pricing and consistent taste.

The guarantee of a predictable quality no matter where you go is a franchise’s greatest strength.

But if we just slap new signs on local bakeries, it won’t function as a franchise.

Forcing bakery owners to produce only one standardized product?

That’s just as difficult.

Every bakery has survived because of its unique strengths—asking them to abandon those would be absurd.

“It’s impossible.”

“No, it’s possible.”

“How?”

“You know McXnald’s, right?”

“…Of course.”

When it comes to franchises, McXnald’s is the gold standard.

With locations all over the world, it’s a go-to choice for a reliable burger.

“Every McXnald’s sells the BigBig Mac, right?”

“Yeah, it’s their signature burger.”

“But they also sell unique burgers in different countries. Like the Bulgogi Burger in Korea or the McFalafel in Egypt.”

“Why does that…”

“We’re going to apply that to our franchise.”

Yuha finally grasped the full picture I was painting.

“Dajeong Bakery’s bestseller is their cream puffs—a steady seller.”

“Gaeun Bakery’s strength is their croquettes. Authentic croquettes sell out as soon as they’re fried.”

“Our Wheat Bakery is famous for its chocolate spiral bread.”

Every local bakery has a unique weapon that’s kept them in business for so long.

“Our franchise will specialize in each bakery’s strengths.”

“And the items that don’t sell well will be replaced with standardized recipes.”

“Exactly.”

In our franchise, every bakery will offer a set of identical menu items.

But each location will also have its own special menu.

“That way, each branch will have its own personality. Bread lovers will have fun visiting different locations.”

“And the less popular items will be unified with recipes we provide to ensure consistent sales.”

“Correct.”

We’ll compensate for weaknesses and highlight strengths.

This is something other franchises can’t do.

Yuha let out a scream, seeing the picture I’d drawn.

“Boss, seriously!”

“What?”

“How do you even come up with this stuff?”

“Do you know how many days I’ve been eating nothing but bread?”

Since deciding to start this business, I’ve eaten so much bread I’m sick of it.

I had to add an extra hour to my morning workout routine just to maintain my physique.

This kind of plan is the least I could come up with to make it worth it.

“But it’s too early to get optimistic. There are still a lot of things to consider.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Yuha calmed her excitement and looked at it objectively.

“Even if this franchise idea is appealing, getting existing bakery owners to join is another matter.”

“These are people who’ve held their ground for years. They’re stubborn.”

“We’ll need a stronger incentive to convince them.”

“Exactly.”

From the owners’ perspective, this franchise plan is attractive but makes them hesitant.

One wrong move, and their unique identity could vanish.

There’s only one way to ease that anxiety.

“Overwhelming profit.”

If they can make more money than they do now?

Anyone’s mind would change.

They’re businesspeople, after all.

***

Yoon Sungmi looked at the people sitting across from her, feeling utterly perplexed.

“I didn’t know Jisung was this kind of person.”

“Hahaha, sorry for not mentioning earlier.”

“You should be.”

Kang Jisung had become a regular customer at some point.

When he walked through the door, she assumed he was here for cream puffs as usual.

“Ribbon Corporation?”

“Yes, it’s the company I founded.”

Seeing his name on the business card didn’t sit well with her.

In her long years of running a business, she’d met all kinds of people.

Among them were, of course, those who approached claiming to be company presidents.

And nine times out of ten, they were scammers.

‘He looks so decent. What a shame.’

If he’d just had a stable job, she would’ve introduced him to her daughters.

What a pity.

She set the business card down.

Still, given their history and the fact that thanks to Jisung, she could source flour cheaply again, she was willing to hear him out.

Even if it was for his own gain, she’d overcome one crisis because of him.

“So, what brings you here?”

“I wanted to talk about a small business opportunity.”

“Business? I’m already busy with what I’m doing.”

It was a polite rejection.

A signal that she wouldn’t entertain any proposal.

But Kang Jisung wasn’t the type to back down from this.

“Ma’am, your cream puffs are seriously delicious. I’ve been to 51 bakeries, and I haven’t found any as good as yours.”

“Hmm, that’s because I put in the effort.”

“But your chocolate spiral bread? It’s a bit lacking.”

That comment stung Yoon Sungmi a little.

She’d kept it on the menu out of ambition, but it always ranked low in sales.

And Jisung didn’t stop there.

“Your roll cakes and whipped cream cakes are the same. They’re decent but leave something to be desired.”

“…Are you saying I can’t make them properly?”

“No way.”

Everything Jisung mentioned was in the bottom tier of sales.

He was poking at sore spots, and she couldn’t tell if he was picking a fight or proposing a deal.

“I know these are your weak points. That’s why you can’t let them go.”

“So? What’s your point?”

“I’ll help you improve them.”

Jisung pulled out documents from his bag and spread them out.

They listed Our Wheat Bakery, renowned for its chocolate spiral bread.

“Their chocolate spiral bread is a real hit. You can eat it over and over, and it still makes your mouth water.”

“You’re praising another bakery in my shop?”

“What if you could refine their recipe for your own use?”

“Well…”

She knew better than anyone how much sales would increase if she could sell as many chocolate spiral breads as she did cream puffs.

Jisung didn’t stop there.

“Not just spiral bread. White bread, whipped cream cake, chocolate vanilla cake. We’ll refine recipes from these top bakeries for you.”

“…Isn’t that corporate espionage?”

“Not at all. Because your cream puff recipe will be shared too.”

It’s not a one-way deal.

The recipes will be slightly adjusted to be just a bit inferior.

That way, Dajeong Bakery’s strengths remain intact.

After a quick mental calculation, her resolve began to waver.

Jisung drove the point home.

“This is the business idea we’re working on. If you join our franchise, we can match the cost of your ingredient supplies.”

“Match how much?”

“You’re getting flour from Gangi Milling, right?”

“Yes.”

“I believe it’s 28,000 won per unit, correct?”

“You know well.”

“I have a way. If you work with us, we can get that price down to 15,000 won.”

Yoon Sungmi’s jaw dropped.

Cutting flour costs in half was practically giving it away.

Yuha was just as shocked, but Yoon Sungmi didn’t notice.

She was too busy calculating costs and reeling from the numbers.

“Will you still make a profit?”

“Yes, I’m confident we will.”

Securing milling companies and distribution pipelines is the hard part.

Once that’s done, we can afford to sell at this price and still profit.

“Oh, and that’s just flour. We’re still looking into sugar suppliers, but we’ll likely be able to provide that too.”

The Tinyfolk’s fourth village will be built in a tropical region.

There, they’ll cultivate sugarcane, which will become sugar.

And that sugar will pile up in Jisung’s warehouse.

“When that happens, we’ll supply sugar at a low price too. What do you think?”

Flour, sugar, butter.

The three biggest cost drivers in baking.

Offering two of them at near-free prices?

Yoon Sungmi did a rough cost calculation and felt dizzy.

‘The profit! How much would that be?’

Even a conservative estimate showed profits could increase by nearly 70%.

That’s assuming operations stay as they are.

If she joins the franchise and improves her underperforming menu items?

Gulp.

Her gaze at Kang Jisung wavered significantly.

She still suspected he might be a scammer.

Businesspeople never take a loss.

There must be a reason for offering such a deal.

“Just… give me a little time to think.”

“Of course. Asking you to sign a contract right now would be too much. I also need to hear from other places and refine some details.”

“Right, right.”

“But the ingredient supply terms won’t change much from what I said.”

Jisung set down a promotional packet, crafted with Yuha’s meticulous effort.

It rivaled the materials of major corporations. Tapping it, he smiled gently and said,

“Contact us anytime.”

At that smile, Yoon Sungmi made a resolution.

‘If he’s a decent guy, I should introduce him to my daughters.’

She decided to make Kang Jisung her top son-in-law candidate.