A TikTok post made Manhattan’s Lafayette Bakery a trend in the city. Anyone who gets hold of a croissant there stages their purchase on social media. About the power of food influencers.
Lafayette Bakery in New York City is exceptional. She has a bouncer who gradually lets people in. The rush is huge three times a day, because that’s when new croissants are put on display.
The store became famous almost overnight. A TikTok user had posted the round, flat croissants with a colorful filling and icing on his account and had more than two million followers in just a few days, says baker Scott Cioe: “The day after we were sold out after an hour. And another one The day after that, people were queuing outside the bakery, so basically two days after the posting, we had a line outside the door – and that hasn’t changed since.”
Baker Scott Cioe started out with two dozen croissants a day – now it’s hundreds.
A customer magnet overnight
New York food blogger Christine Yi experiences this all the time. She, too, has managed to turn restaurants into overnight magnets by sharing their food with her hundreds of thousands of followers.
“I find it actually incredible—almost frightening at times. You can make a certain food that’s not even good New York City’s favorite thing. I’ve seen that,” she says. “And on the other hand, you can make a very inconspicuous little restaurant that nobody really knows famous, boost their business and change their lives. Then suddenly there are lines of people waiting outside their door.”
It was similar with the Lafayette. Before the hype, Scott was only baking two dozen croissants a day. Now there are 600. He and his two colleagues could no longer manage that alone. Today the bakery has 20 employees.
New York, a paradise for food bloggers
The location certainly also contributed to the success, says food blogger Yi: “New York is the Top spot in the world, with huge population and lots of tourists. It’s easy to let a store go viral here.”
As soon as the buyers hold their trend croissant in their hands, there is almost always a small photo shoot in the store. The customers take a picture of themselves with the croissant of their choice and post the picture on social media. Jeff does the same: “It just shows that your life is just as sweet as the chocolate or croissant you bought here.”
Long lines of people form in front of Scott Cioe’s “Lafayette” bakery every day who want to buy his croissants and use them to present themselves on social media.
The trend has its price
Suzanne Higgs from the University of Birmingham studies the phenomenon of food blogging. In her view, this is how people try to connect with each other. “We use social media to convey a certain impression, to belong and to be liked within certain social groups,” says the scientist.
And that’s what customers pay a lot of money for at the Lafayette. Almost ten dollars – per croissant. “That’s the value of attention and likes on Instagram and stuff like that. That’s what you pay for: half for the croissant and half for the attention,” says Jeff, happily walking home with his croissants in hand.