How a pastry shop made a viral trend its own
A single trending item can create a ripple effect online, drawing new customers in and serving as a gateway to your staple items. For Alexander’s Patisserie, that product was the flat croissant, a trend that originated in South Korea and made its way to pastry chef Shuyao Cao’s social media feed.
Intrigued, Shuyao (better known as Chef Shu) created her own version of the pastry: a flattened croissant coated in butter and sugar, fried, and dipped in rich French chocolate. Marketing the item brought a new wave of attention to the patisserie in Mountain View, California, already beloved for its innovative, precise creations. “I feel like our whole team, everyone has their own talents. Each one of them is unique, and I take the string from them and then I put it together,” Chef Shu said.
Embracing a trend can have a lot of benefits for your brand, from generating social media engagement to landing PR opportunities. But how do you ensure that you’re choosing trends that make sense for your business, rather than chasing fleeting viral fame?
Get four tips from the team behind Alexander’s Patisserie, which has mastered the art of making a trend their own by tapping into their passions and playing to their strengths.
1. Tap into your staff’s interests
One way to gauge if viral trends are right for your business is to follow tastemakers in your industry (such as micro influencers or Yelp Elites) and see what they’re excited about. But the first real test should be your team: If something also interests your staff—the people who know your target customers best—it might be worth a try.
Photo from Yelp user Tina N.
In fact, Chef Shu said she never intended to put the flat croissant on the menu at Alexander’s; she was simply curious about the new trend flooding her social media feeds and wanted to try it for herself: “I really wanted to try because it went viral in my Asian area. I made one and the patisserie, the front and the back of the house, they really enjoyed it. So I said, ‘Okay, let’s put it on the menu.”’
David Brungard, vice president of operations for Alexander’s Group Corporate, emphasizes that the team’s diverse perspectives help the brand tap into trending moments. “Everyone’s point of view makes us richer. And in the food world, there is no greater example because the food has become this mishmash of French techniques, Asian ingredients, and [inspiration from] South America,” he said.
Pro tip: Discover what’s on the rise in 2025 and how you can leverage these trends for your business.
2. Add your own twist
If you’re hopping on a trend, be aware that your competitors may be doing the same. Adding your own twist to a viral item can help set you apart while staying true to your brand. Draw inspiration from your current menu, mission, or what you do best.
For example, one of Alexander’s key competitive advantages is its commitment to sourcing quality ingredients, from AOP butter and chocolate imported from France to fresh mango and strawberries. Many of these flavors helped elevate Chef Shu’s version of the flat croissant, making it her own and surprising and delighting customers like Yelp Elite Taylor P. “Each of the flat croissants were chocolate dipped in each of their distinguished flavors, and that added a very nice touch. The texture was more like a flaky cookie, but you get that croissant flavor,” she said.
Regardless of what’s trending, Chef Shu continually experiments with the menu in order to keep offerings fresh. “The most important [thing is] to keep my customers interested because it’s not a tourist area, so we need to make sure we have our regular customers [coming] back every day, every other day, or at least once a week. So if I constantly have a new item, they can always come back and purchase it,” she said.
3. Join the conversation online
If you’re dipping your toes into a trending topic, be prepared to join the conversation. Share reviews and repost content people make about the trend—or create social media content yourself.
Chef Shu said marketing played a big role in her flat croissants’ success: “ We really see how customers react and then how much we sell every day. And then my marketing team, they did a really good job [highlighting] them. We also see how people react on the internet too.”
It’s just as important to monitor customer reception to your new product or service. The team at Alexander’s does this regularly through weekly meetings where they discuss new products, read Yelp reviews, and make tweaks based on customer feedback. “I read every review the customer leaves me,” Chef Shu said. “If it’s a hundred people and I only get one complaint, then I don’t do anything. But if it’s more than one or two, then I know there’s something I need to do about it.”
4. Good service is evergreen
Trendy products or services get customers in the door, but your staple items and customer service should keep them coming back. For example, Taylor came seeking the flat croissant, which she’d seen videos of on Instagram, but she was also impressed by the ham and cheese croissant, macarons, and coffee drinks. Knowledgeable team members can help make recommendations for first-timers, while engaging menus or branded displays sell regulars on something new.
“I really appreciated the thoughtfulness and the attentiveness of the two staff that were helping everyone,” Taylor said. “If you’ve ever been to Alexander’s Patisserie, they have some really unique desserts and pastries. I noticed a lot of customers were asking questions, and the barista was multitasking. I didn’t mind the wait one bit just because you felt that warmth, you felt the care, the thoughtfulness. So that definitely makes the experience worth waiting for.”
These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear from Chef Shu, David, and Taylor, or visit the show homepage to learn about the show and find more episodes.