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A dessert company was caught deceiving customers by selling factory-produced large-size cookies as 'handmade cookies.'

The company insisted that the cookies were genuine, even posting fake manufacturing processes, but only admitted the truth and apologized after the handmade e-commerce platform Idus stepped in to investigate the situation.

Recently, an online community post titled "A dessert shop selling factory cookies as handmade cookies" was uploaded.

The author, Mr. A, stated, "A few days ago, I ordered handmade chocolate chip cookies from a dessert cafe listed on an online store and received them by delivery. Seeing that a box of 8 chocolate cookies was sold for 1,500 won, I purchased 10 boxes."

A posted side-by-side photos of commercially available large cookies and cookies sold by a company claiming they were handmade on the bulletin board.
[Photo by Nate Pann capture]

The product description of the cookies he purchased included phrases such as 'Due to the nature of handmade cookies, sizes may vary' and 'Made after order.'

After receiving and tasting the product, Mr. A suspected that the cookies were not handmade and inquired with the company, which confirmed that they were handmade.

Later, he discovered that the cookies he bought were identical to the large-size cookies from S Bakery, which are sold online at about 12,000 won for 1.8kg at the lowest price. Mr. A said, "I bought the large-size cookies myself and compared them with the dessert shop's handmade cookies. The shape and size were almost identical, and the taste and texture were the same." He raised concerns, adding, "The company's SNS claims they minimize margins to coexist with consumers, but I can't believe there are still places deceiving customers like this."

As Mr. A's post gained attention, the company refused refunds, stating, "Our products are made exclusively for customers after order receipt, and refunds are difficult unless there is a clear food safety issue or seller's fault." They also posted a notice saying, "(Our cookies) are so similar to large-size cookies that we were surprised. Is this a happening to encourage us to work harder?" along with photos.

[Photo by IDeus]

They also shared photos of the cookie-making process, claiming, "Since they are handmade, we prepare the dough fresh with sincere effort every time an order is received."

Some netizens questioned the photos posted by Mr. B, saying, "Different manufacturing would be needed to produce cookies identical to the sold products," and "The chocolate chip shapes in the photos before and after baking look very different."

After Idus, the sales intermediary platform, received consumer reports and announced plans to visit the site for investigation, Mr. B reportedly admitted that the manufacturing process shown in the photos was fabricated.

He posted an apology, saying, "I deeply apologize for deceiving consumers by carelessly thinking it was acceptable to use the title 'handmade' and pretend to be handmade, even though I knew it was wrong."

Online store Idus stated, "Although we received the manufacturing process from Mr. B, unresolved issues remained, and as we planned a direct site visit, we discovered that the manufacturing process was fabricated. We have removed Mr. B's store from our platform and decided to refund the purchased products. We are also reviewing legal responsibilities regarding Mr. B."

A similar incident occurred in 2018 in Eumseong, Chungbuk. At that time, a large supermarket's products were falsely sold as handmade cookies, causing controversy. The cookie shop repackaged bread as organic handmade products and sold them at more than double the price. Subsequently, the shop owner, Mr. A, was sentenced in the 2020 appellate court to one year in prison with a two-year probation for fraud and violation of food hygiene laws.