They’re not afraid to be premium. Cakes produced for the overseas market use Echire butter from France. Those are priced at US$3 apiece, which is unheard in Taiwan. But that’s what a similar, high-quality pastry would sell for in Japan.
They invest in their brand. SunnyHills commissioned renowned Japanese designer Kengo Kuma to work on the exterior and interior appearance of the Tokyo shop in Aoyama. Kuma produced an NT$100 million (US$3.3 million) structure with a wooden lattice exoskeleton designed to lure passersby inside.
They’re killing it overseas. The SunnyHills store in Singapore is located inside the 125-year-old Raffles Hotel and sells between 4,000-5,000 cakes a day. In Shanghai, their store is on the Bund. In Hong Kong, they’re in Central.
They control their own distribution. Since the product has just a 15-day shelf-life, SunnyHills controls distribution through their own retail and e-commerce channels. If you order online from Europe or North America, you can expect the cakes to arrive within 5 business days.