SPC Group () is a South Korean food company based in Seoul that manufactures food, bread, and other

confectionery Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

products. Sangmidang, the precursor of Samlip General Food was founded in 1945 and the group was launched in 2004. SPC Group is one of the oldest brands in the confectionery and bakery industry in Korea. Its catering centers are based in

Seongnam Seongnam (; ) is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. It consists of three administrative districts: Bundang District, J ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

. In addition to Samlip General Food and Shany, SPC Group has franchise brands such as Paris Baguette ''(Bakery)'' and BR Korea ''(Donuts and Ice Cream)'' as subsidiaries. The company also has SPL, SPC Capital, Samlip GFS, and Mildawon, to name a few, as the subsidiary companies, further broadening business scope with overseas establishments in the United States, China, Vietnam, and Singapore. "SPC" stands for "Samlip/Shany," "Paris Croissant," and "Companies (including BR Korea and other subsidiaries of today and tomorrow)."

History

In 1945, Hur Chang-sung started a small confectionery outfit named Sangmidang. In 1959 the business was renamed to Samlip. A couple of years later, Samlip began to produce bread and biscuits. His business was aligned with government policies. Their first product was a cream-filled pastry. Samlip's quality was high for sales in US military camps. In the late 1960s, there were many competitors including Koryo Dang Bakery, Tae Geuk Dang, and New York Bakery. In 1972, Hur set up another arm called Shany to specialize in High-end cakes. Eventually, Hur's son, Hur Young-in oversaw Shany's operation and took over the Samlip group.

Labour-related issues

Employment of bakers

In September 2017, SPC was found to have illegally dispatched 5,000 bakers who were hired through partner firms by the

Ministry of Employment and Labor Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL; ) is a cabinet-level ministry of the government of South Korea that oversees labor-related affairs. Its predecessor agency, the Division of Labor, was established under the direction of the Minister of S ...

(MOEL). These bakers were instructed directly by SPC Group. Such employment practices usually helped the company involved to reduce hiring costs as they would not need to give these dispatched labor benefits such as paid vacation or health insurance. MOEL directed SPC Group to employ the bakers directly, but , the group has yet to resolve the issue, having not implemented an agreement under which the 5,000 bakers would be employed by a 51-percent-owned subsidiary.

Workplace safety

On October 15, 2022, a 23-year-old worker died on the floor of a bread factory affiliated with SPC. The worker was caught in an industrial mixer. Public opinions about the group turned sour after allegations that the company put a screen around the mixer involved and expected the other workers to continue working on the floor. Officials from MOEL went to investigate and stop the machines without safety locks. The company did so as the Ministry only initially ordered a suspension of work on the mixer. Operations on the production floor were suspended the following day after the Ministry recommended further action. This triggered calls for a boycott of the group's brands nationwide. The company also issued a statement initially stating that the deceased worker was working "in a team of two"; however, testimony by her colleagues refuted the statement. The deceased worker had been "repeatedly putting in as much as 15 to 20 kg of raw materials into a 120 cm-high machine alone while standing in front of the machine", while the alleged teammate was working on other sandwich ingredients. On October 24, 2022, it was revealed that the group had more than 100 industrial accidents per year lodged with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency since 2019.

Subsidiaries

Samlip General Food

Samlip General Food () is headquartered in

Siheung Siheung (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The city has a population of 511,807 people, where 508,646 are residents out of 218,846 households as of August 2021. Siheung acquired its cu ...

. Samlip General Food, formerly known as ''Sangmidang'', was established in October 1945 by Hur Chang-sung, and is a forerunner of the SPC Group. It makes

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

and

products. Its manufacturing centers are based in Jeongwang-dong

and

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

. The company's Core Identity was further reinforced through the acquisition of Shany, a high-end cake brand established in 1972. Samlip is also diversifying its business into ''tteok'' (Korean rice cake) and restaurant franchising.

Shany

The company is headquartered in

. It was established on October 15, 1972 under the previous name ''Hankook International Foods''. It makes

and

products. Its manufacturing centers are based in Sangdaewon-dong

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

, and

. The company was incorporated as a group member by Samlip General Food. ParisBaguette

Paris Croissant

Paris Croissant is a South Korean franchise bakery that utilizes authentic French baking. In 1988, Paris Croissant launched Paris Baguette, which grew into a top bakery café franchise brand in Korea. With the expansion into the Chinese market in 2004, the company began going global and now has local subsidiaries in the US, Vietnam, and Singapore. Other F&B brands include Paris Croissant Café (premium bakery café), Pascucci (Italian espresso café), LINA's and Tamati (sandwich), Passion5 (upscale dessert gallery), L’atelier (café restaurant), and

Jamba Juice Jamba, formerly known as Jamba Juice, is an American quick-service restaurant and juice bar chain that sells blended fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, and other food products. The first Jamba location, originally named Juice Club, opened ...

(smoothie). The company is also rapidly gaining traction in the restaurant industry with brands such as Queens Park (organic), LaGrilla (Italian), The World Vine (wine), Parlour (European casual cuisine), and Vera Napoli. 2013 Revenue of US$1.51 Billion. In the United States, Paris Baguette is named as Paris Baguette Café. Most of Paris Baguette Café's chains are located near the Los Angeles metropolitan area and have been substantially increasing ever since 2008. It has stores in California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

BR Korea

BR Korea is a joint venture established by the SPC Group and

Dunkin' Brands Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. was an American restaurant holding company that ran three chains of fast food, fast-food restaurants: Dunkin' Donuts, Mister Donut, and Baskin-Robbins. It was headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. It was acquired by In ...

, Inc. in 1985. In the first year, the company launched

Baskin Robbins Baskin-Robbins, Inc. is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake specialty shops owned by Inspire Brands. Baskin-Robbins was formed in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California.

, cultivating the premium ice cream market in Korea. In 1993, BR Korea launched

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

, leading the way to dominating the donut segment of the Korean baked goods market. Due to much continuous growth, BR Korea now operates over 1800 Baskin Robbins and Dunkin' Donuts brand stores. Ice cream is produced in BR Korea's Eumseung plant with a certified Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points system (HACCP), and coffee beans are roasted in BR Korea's large-scale roasting center.

Other subsidiaries

* SPC Logistics * SPC Cloud * SPC Networks * SPC Capital * Samlip GFS * Sungil Chemical * Mildawon * S Dairy Foods

Brands

* Samlip ** KBO Bread (in association with 9 KBO Teams) * Shany * Bizeun * Eggslut (Singapore) * Paris Croissant * Paris Baguette * Shake Shack (Korea, Singapore and Malaysia) *

(Korea) *

(Korea) * Caffè Pascucci *

(Korea) * Passion 5 * Lagrillia * Queens Park * L'atelier * Parlour * Vera Napoli * Lina's * Tamati * The World Wine * strEAT