In the bakery-cafe race, 85°C Bakery could be the brand to watch

Americans are just loving bakery-cafes right now. Among the fastest growing brands are Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours. Both are global brands, born in Korea.

And then there’s 85°C Bakery Café, which was born in Taiwan.

This much smaller chain is also growing rapidly. But it’s leading the three in average unit volume.

Rapid growth plans

85°C Bakery surpassed 100 units earlier this month (No. 100 is in Aurora, Colorado), and expects to hit 110 by the end of the year. The goal is to reach 150 before the end of 2028, said Dave Lazaro, director of marketing for the chain in the U.S.

Like Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours, 85°C Bakery is a global brand. 85°C Bakery has more than 1,000 locations in Asia (mostly China). The brand made its U.S. debut in 2008 in Irvine, California.

At the end of 2025, 85°C Bakery had sales of $284.3 million, an 8.1% increase, with 88 units, up 10% year over year. The average unit volume at the time was $3.3 million, but Lazaro said the chain expects the AUV to hit $3.45 million this year.

That’s well ahead of competitors Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours, which had an AUV of $3.03 million and $1.81 million, respectively, according to Technomic data. Paris Baguette ended the year with 269 units, however, and Tous les Jours had 190. And both chains are also continuing their aggressive growth across the U.S.

Menu and offerings

Between the three brands, there are a lot of similarities. The menus focus on a huge variety of “breads” or pastries (savory and sweet), cakes and other treats, displayed in glass cases for consumers to pick and choose. Guests use tongs to fill their trays.

All three have a strong beverage side. But this is where 85°C Bakery begins to stand out, said Lazaro.

“The focus on drinks has grown so much in the past two years,” he said. “It’s one of our fastest growing categories.”

There are matcha drinks, smoothies, boba milk teas, and lattes. In fact, the chain’s name refers to the ideal temperature for brewing espresso.

85°C Bakery has long been known for its sea salt coffees and sea salt jasmine tea. But Vietnamese coffee was added a couple of years ago, and an influencer posted her custom drink: Vietnamese coffee with sea salt cream (on the bottom). “That went viral and it became this year’s top seller,” said Lazaro.

On the “bread” side, which refers to pastries and buns, are fusion offerings, like the Ham and Cheese in a puff pastry, or the Milk Pudding, a Japanese-style soft bread filled with vanilla custard.

Guests have learned to first go to the kiosk to order their drinks, then walk through the bread-and-cake display to select snacks and pay at the counter, said Lazaro.

There’s also a line of whole cakes (about $38) and slices, from tiramisu to Mango Crème Brulee. It’s a complex operation, with about 55 varieties of breads alone.

“There’s literally something for everyone,” said Lazaro.

The bakeries are served by a central kitchen, where most of the items are mixed and prepped, though the actual baking is done in units for breads and pastries.

Growth strategy

Lazaro said growth is focused around the distribution centers, which include California and Dallas, and next year a new facility will open in New Jersey, to support growth in the Northeast.

About 8 of the 101 units currently are franchised, and Lazaro said the plan is to keep franchising at less than 10% of growth in the U.S., focusing mostly on company-owned locations.

Perhaps most notably, 85°C Bakery has positioned itself as a more value-focused brand.

“That’s been our mantra from the beginning,” said Lazaro. “Our chairman, when he opened in Taiwan, said he wanted a café with five-star-quality baking at affordable prices.”

The average check is about $16.45, compared with $19.41 at Paris Baguette, for example. Tous les Jours, however, comes in the lowest at $15.80, according to Technomic.

One unfortunate trend that has emerged amid the bakery-café growth is the amount of plastic used. At 85°C Bakery, each bread or pastry is tucked into individual plastic bags, even inside catering boxes prepared in the back.

It’s a remnant of Covid-19 that has never gone away, said Lazaro. People love using tongs (which get turned in at the counter to be washed) to select their snacks, but guests got used to the sight of each pastry in its own protected bag.

It creates a lot of waste.

Lazaro said the brand is testing a return to the open-tray process, but it might take time to move consumers away from a fear of contamination mindset. “I don’t know that we’re there yet,” said Lazaro.

Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts.