HYPE DETECTIVE

Hype Detective

How much more did we pay for the hype?

From pre-hype prices to the peak, today’s price, store counts and where the money went.

Cost Detective한국어

AFFORDABILITY BOTTLENECK

At peak hype the price is set by scarcity and queues, not cost; before, peak and after prices show that share.

Bottleneck examined: Price · causes checked: scarcity

What a price bottleneck is · Who made this price — a case is labelled only with evidence.

How to read this

Every price and store count carries a date, place and source; gaps stay “n/a”. Hype half-life is the days for the 4-week average of Google search interest to fall to half its peak. No business is said to have engineered a fad — only what happened, in order.

TIMELINE

Food fads by year

  1. 2016 · Giant castella
  2. 2019 · Brown sugar bubble tea
  3. 2020 · Croffle
  4. 2022 · Salt bread
  5. 2023 · Tanghulu
  6. 2024 · Dubai chocolate
  7. 2024 · Yoajung (yogurt ice cream)
  8. 2026 · Dubai chewy cookie (dujjonku)
  9. 2026 · Butter tteok

ITEMS

Price, search and stores by item

2026 · Dessert · Cooling
Dubai chewy cookie (dujjonku)
Peak ₩5,000~₩10,000 · Half-life 35d · Stores n/a
2026 · Bakery · Cooling
Butter tteok
Peak ₩1,500 · Half-life 70d · Stores n/a
2024 · Dessert · Stable
Dubai chocolate
Peak n/a · Half-life 49d · Stores n/a
2024 · Dessert · Unknown · search curve only
Yoajung (yogurt ice cream)
Peak n/a · Half-life 63d · Stores n/a
2023 · Snack · Cooling
Tanghulu
Peak ₩3,000~₩4,000 · Half-life 63d · Stores Dalkom Wangga Tanghulu stores: 98% of observed peak
2022 · Bakery · Mainstream · search curve only
Salt bread
Peak n/a · Half-life n/a · Stores n/a
2020 · Cafe · Mainstream · search curve only
Croffle
Peak n/a · Half-life 679d · Stores n/a
2019 · Drink · Unknown
Brown sugar bubble tea
Peak n/a · Half-life 49d · Stores n/a
2016 · Bakery · Collapsed
Giant castella
Peak ₩6,000~₩7,000 · Half-life 14d · Stores Danshui giant castella franchisees: 9% of observed peak