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Lemon Cake Specialty Shop Raison d'être
We interviewed Hitomi Sakaguchi, who developed the matured lemon cake and is involved in everything from the development of main cakes to shop design, package design, production, management and consulting, about the future development at the main shop in Himeji.
＜The birth of lemon cake＞
We currently have 15 lemon cake specialty shops across Japan that have been featured quite a bit on TV and is currently a hot topic.
Recently, you may find lemon cake specialty shops here and there, but in 2020, there were almost none, and this is a product that was refined during the coronavirus pandemic.
In this way, this product was born from the voices of our customers. I decided to make it a specialty shop, and in 2022 we started developing a franchise. We also received feedback from customers, thanks to the supervision of Mr. Hiroshi Yamaguchi, the general manager of the Kitano Hotel.
＜Thoughtfully selected ingredients＞
This moist, yet dense lemon cake is made with a minimum amount of flour, and is generously mixed with butter, eggs and the main ingredient, Setouchi lemons.
The flavor changes as the days go by.
When eaten cold, it has a very chewy texture, and we recommend cutting it thinly and eating it like yokan (sweet bean jelly).
Because the production process is quite complicated, it is difficult to learn how to make it through training, so we ask our franchise partners to focus on sales. The shelf life is 30 days after defrosting, so there is no food loss, which is very much appreciated by our franchise partners. We are currently preparing to expand our central kitchen so that we can handle a large number of orders.
Last year, as the number of stores increased, we encountered some issues, but we have now cleared them.
＜Cat and Paris＞
The cat design used on the packaging etc. is based on “Hijiki“, the popular cat manager of BUENA VISTA, the café bar run by Hitomi, the owner of Raison d’être.
The Eiffel Tower in its chest represents the world of Raison d’être, Paris, France.
Raison d’être is now sold in over 15 shops as a cute, nostalgic “lemon cake specialty shop” on the streets of Paris. We have partners in Hyogo (6 shops), Tokyo, Chiba, Osaka (2 shops), Kyoto, Okayama, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Nagasaki. We would like to have as many women as possible manage our shops. We aim to open shops in alleys where rent is cheap, and to develop them across Japan that can make a high profit in a short time (e.g. 11am to 4pm) and also allow people to raise their children. Raison d’être is a French word meaning “the one and only”. Like this word, we want to support the lives of each and every one of our customers.
＜Persona and scheme＞
This is clear.
・Customer base centered on high-income earners
・Mostly gift-giving needs
・It’s not for buying yourself
・Customers become repeaters and then fans
・Since a shop opened, the average spending per customer gradually increases
・Shops in office districts have large sales due to corporate needs
By targeting gift-giving needs rather than “buying for myself“, the business is running smoothly.
There is also a website for advance reservations, and many customers make advance payments and come to a shop to pick up their orders. Once a customer has purchased a product from any of our shops and liked it, they can purchase it from the reservation site next time.
We have also received offers from cat-loving communities, and we are happy to be expanding our circle of friends.
In addition, since we are a sales franchise, we are also considering opening our shops overseas. Please feel free to contact us.