Shoppers queue for a taste of Nicholas Tse

The Taste of Feng bakery created by actor Nicholas Tse is proving so popular scalpers are making a killing from queueing.
The renowned movie star, singer and television cooking show host recently opened a cookie bakery in Hong Kong’s Central. So popular has it become amongst locals, a growing legion of elderly ladies are making their own living queuing to buy the cookies, then reselling them to those without the time or patience for queues – at a 100 per cent markup.
Tse says he is aware of the practice, known as ‘scalping’ in some countries and a regular scenario outside Apple stores when the tech giant launches a new product.
The Nicholas Tse cookies sell for HK$200 a box, about US$26.
Beyond Dessert Hong Kong- Nicholas Tse
Tse is not too perturbed by the phenomenon, issuing a statement reported by My Paper saying he hoped the ‘cookie trade’ helped the women’s income, but was concerned for their welfare standing in lines for such periods – undoubtedly a reference to the recent heat wave in the city.
While demand for the cookies may have created a ‘black market’, Tse and his team refuse to increase production from the current 500 box a day run, saying to do so would compromise quality.
The Nicholas Tse store opened in early May in a partnership with Hong Kong bakery chain Beyond Dessert. The name Taste of Feng is a derivation of Tse’s Chinese name Xie Tingfeng.

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