"180,000-Won Luxury Hotel Cake, Ingredient Cost Only 30,000 Won"... What About Brand Value and Labor Costs?

YouTuber Zerobi Recreates Cake with Patissier
Reveals Ingredient Cost Ratio of 17% Compared to 180,000 Won Price

YouTuber Zerobi, who has 580,000 subscribers, is drawing attention online after releasing a video analyzing the ingredient costs of Shilla Hotel's high-priced cakes.

YouTuber Zerobi collaborated with master pastry chef to closely recreate the Shilla Hotel's signature Christmas cake, 'White Holiday,' and analyzed the cost of the ingredients.

On December 30, Zerobi collaborated with a master pastry chef on his YouTube channel to closely recreate Shilla Hotel's signature Christmas cake, 'White Holiday,' and documented the process of calculating each ingredient cost. According to the video analysis, the estimated total ingredient cost for one cake was 30,888 won.

White Holiday is the signature product of Shilla Hotel's pastry boutique, featuring layered white and chocolate sponge, fresh cream, and strawberries, decorated in the shape of a Christmas tree. The current retail price is 180,000 won, making the cost ratio approximately 17.1%.

During the recreation process, the white sponge batter included eggs, sugar, honey, French flour, butter, milk, and vanilla beans, totaling about 4,983 won in ingredient costs. The chocolate sponge batter cost 5,360 won. For the ganache base beneath the sponge, animal-based fresh cream, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, butter, hazelnuts, and coating chocolate were used, costing 10,489 won. Eight strawberries placed between the layers cost 5,596 won, and the syrup cost 111 won.

The cost of fresh cream for the cake's exterior decoration was 6,754 won, with decorative powder at 56 won, chocolate balls at 26 won, and decorative chocolate at 20 won, bringing the final total ingredient cost to 30,888 won.

At the end of the video, Zerobi commented, "Considering the brand value of Shilla Hotel, it makes sense, but personally, I would find it difficult to buy it with my own money."

Reactions from viewers who watched the video were mixed. Some said, "Now that I know the cost, it's hard to justify buying it," while others agreed with the high price, noting, "Cake production also involves labor, technical fees, design, and packaging costs."

Zerobi has gained popularity with content analyzing the ingredient costs of various foods such as Bungeoppang, Pyongyang Naengmyeon, and Tteokbokki.