Connaught Heart Cake Business, change the single taste, the user experience is the ultimate

When Zhang Yi moved from Hong Kong to Shanghai, she had lived in New York and Paris for some time, creating two trades. A clothing company she founded in Paris returned home after selling it to a Jew in 2008. The reason is that she wants to have a child, also want to take this a period of home, do http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/39608.html "> Housewife's life." But not long, she founded in Shanghai to E-commerce as a business model of the Cake brand "Connaught Heart Le CAKE" (hereinafter referred to Connaught Heart), Time is 2010 years.

4 years down, the company has not experienced storms, Zhang Yi did not disclose the details of the annual revenue, but she told the "Entrepreneurial State" Reporter: "now can sell more than 3,000 cakes a day." "This newspaper learned that its average customer price of about 150 yuan-180 yuan, according to this estimate, its current annual revenue scale broken 100 million yuan without suspense."

Connaught Heart So far in Beijing, Hangzhou, Tianjin and other 6 cities set up branches, the total staff of 800 people. Shanghai is its base and office space is located in an inconspicuous building at 140th TianLin Road. Open the door of the company's Glass, will see a corner of the front desk stacked with some empty cartons; its staff will be around you from time and again, it is not difficult to feel a start-up company exudes temperament.

2011 Connaught Heart completed a round of financing. If there is no accident, its next round of financing will soon be settled. Thin Zhang Yi through the corner of a pile of cardboard boxes, walked to a room can only sit less than 10 people's conference room, after sitting, she did not greet, simply directly said: "Let's talk about user experience and products." ”

Products: Change the taste of cake single

Zhang Yi A few times when he started his business in Paris with Christine Ingratiating, Ledoyen chef at the Michelin Samsung restaurant. Founded Connaught Heart, she invited the latter to join the brand in Paris, the product development director. Christine Ingratiating will come to Shanghai several times a year, he will tell the team on this side of the popular cake abroad What the practice is, which new materials can be used in new products and so on, Christine Ingratiating's Alliance to the Connaught Heart team brought the forefront of the field of vision.

Zhang Yi depending on product development, creative ability for the company in the industry based, leading the key words. In terms of products, she felt that the cake is Western-style products, but the Chinese people will eat a lot of desserts every day, can they? In the conference room, she opened a three birthday cake box, its inspiration, creativity is from a called poplar Nectar dessert, ingredients include cream, mango, grapefruit meat, she felt that since everyone can accept such a combination of ingredients, then why not change them as a cake?

Zhang Yi said that most of the domestic cake taste more flat, mainly to sweet taste, or plus mango more than a layer of sour. She wondered how her cake felt more layered on the palate, taking the anniversary cake as an example, "The taste of its entrance will change on the tip of the tongue, first of all, sweetness, then the sour of the mango, and finally the bitterness of the grapefruit." ”

A few years ago, the industry's popular molecular cuisine, that is, to change the original taste and state of food, different ingredients for a new combination to create a new taste. The research team has a strong interest in this change and innovation, and they hope that in the cake product, diners will feel the richness of the hierarchy, not just a single sweetness.

They developed a Zhang Yi called "Five Senses" tiramisu cake. Zhang Yi says, visually it looks aesthetically pleasing; When you smell it, it emits a bouquet of wine; In addition to the taste it brings, the mouth will have a crisp texture when it touches it, "and you will hear the sound of a bit of snapping when you taste it." ”

Zhang Yi feel that customers now have a lot of countries, have had travel experience, they receive more information than before, in short, a group of people with wide horizons. For this reason, rigid products are certainly unattractive to them. So, does she want to be able to make some changes in the taste of the cake, not only the sense of taste, can bring some new elements, surprises?

Last year, Connaught Heart attended the World Food Quality Assessment Conference. The organization of the General Assembly Monde selection is an independent international organization created in 1961 by the European Community (EC) and Belgian ministry in Brussels, Belgium, with 89 countries and 3000?4000 products participating in its assessment each year, The fledgling Connaught Heart in this Congress to bring back a gold medal.

This award gives a great incentive to the team of Connaught Heart, "It has always been a very proud thing for us to win this prize in Europe because of the lack of quality in Chinese manufacturing." "Zhang Yi said.

Zhang's experience of the industry is that its raw materials are of course very important, they make cakes need chocolate, fruit and so will come from many countries. But she has a point of view that the industry's quality of raw materials does not explain the problem, "the point is, how do you mix them, mix together creatively to make products, and can conquer diners ' stomachs." Like painting, several people use the same pigments, Huaju, but the final display of the work is not the same level. ”

User Experience

2010 products on the line, Connaught Heart has always insisted on the cake box tie a ribbon. This is not a very compelling detail, Zhang Yi to see it very important. Her reason is that this is a kind of etiquette, must have a diner to tear down the ribbon of the process, such a cake will appear perfect, "I believe that the process you take the ribbon is looking forward to, when you receive a birthday cake, tear down the ribbon when the joy is irreplaceable." ”

Zhang Yi, a costume-born, has also cleverly used some elements of costume design in the packaging design of cakes. Unpacking the cake box will see that the inside of the pattern from the clothing design of a common character pattern. In addition, the City of New York and Paris, the two Zhang Yi, have been cleverly and graphically stitched together in a map. Its streets are named after the products of Connaught Heart, and diners can participate in lottery and interaction by finding the name of a product on the map, @ its official microblog. "That is to say, the user opens the box and enters the world of Connaught Heart Cake." ”

Connaught Heart of cutlery, cut the plastic fork of the cake color different, "we make them colorful, is to feel that the cake is to pass happy, sweet, so we from packaging, tableware and so on to give users a good user experience." Zhang Yi said, "Let the customer feel the product behind the intention, happiness, I think it is quite important." ”

The birth of Connaught Heart and Zhang Yi to participate in a girlfriends birthday party. The friend knows that she has two hobbies: painting, making cakes, so put forward their own birthday not to set the cake outside, by Zhang Yi hands. After the party guests tasted the cake, the unanimous feeling was great. So everyone is chatting up the topic of cake. Zhang Yi at that time, half jokingly said, oneself again start to make cake good.

Zhang Yi casually out of a word, attracted the presence of the Huaguang capital of an investor's attention, for the professional sensitivity of investors, he said to Zhang Yi: "This business can be done." Shortly after the end of--party, Huaguang Capital and another investment agency in Hong Kong became Zhang Yi angel investors.