"How Delicious Could It Be?" Sold 2.4 Million in 2 Weeks... Japanese Convenience Store Transformed into Bakery

Japan's convenience store Seven-Eleven has transformed into a 'bakery.'

On the 24th, Japan's Seven-Eleven announced that it will expand the sales area of the 'Seven Cafe Bakery,' which is baked and served from in-store ovens at about 1,000 stores nationwide, to approximately 3,000 stores by March 2025.

Products such as 'Store-Fried Donuts' sold at Japan's Seven-Eleven [Image source=Japan Seven-Eleven]

Currently, Seven-Eleven sells items such as 'Seven Cafe Smoothies,' 'in-store fried curry bread,' and 'in-store fried donuts.' Products starting with 'baked in-store' include melon bread, croissants, chocolate cookies, and financiers, priced around 2,000 KRW each.

Earlier, on the 3rd, Seven-Eleven introduced three new products?'in-store fried donut maple,' 'in-store fried donut custard,' and 'in-store fried donut chocolate'?at select stores in Tokyo, Chiba Prefecture, and Saitama Prefecture. The price is about 1,500 KRW each. It is said that 2.4 million units were sold within two weeks of release. Currently, about 5,000 stores carry these products, but the plan is to expand to Kanagawa Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Okinawa Prefecture, and others, increasing to 11,300 stores by November.

Seven-Eleven released 'donuts sold at the counter' in 2014 but discontinued sales in 2017 after three years. The decision to expand the number of stores selling donuts this time is based on recent success. The 'in-store fried curry bread' released in 2022 recorded cumulative sales of about 76 million units in 2023 and has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the 'best-selling freshly fried curry bread brand.'