From Viennese Bakeries to TikTok Trends: The Croissant’s Rise to Icon Status
Few bakery items have had the cultural glow-up of the croissant.
What began as a humble European pastry has become a global icon. Today, croissants are photographed, filmed, filled, folded and shared across social media daily. They appear in trendy cafés, office meetings, weekend brunches and breakfast tables around the world.
But perhaps the reason croissants continue to capture our attention has very little to do with social media.
A great croissant represents something timeless.
For some, it’s the ritual of stopping for a coffee and croissant before heading into a busy workday. For others, it’s a weekend treat shared with family, or the reward for a craving they’ve been thinking about all week. It is often the calm before the day begins.
At Fournos, we’ve watched croissants become part of thousands of everyday moments. A quick coffee stop becomes a catch-up with a friend. A business meeting turns into a lingering conversation. Someone arrives for a croissant and leaves with something for the kids at home.
What we do as bakers is important because our pastries become part of the memories made around them.
The Origins of the Croissant
Despite being closely associated with France today, the croissant’s roots trace back to Austria.
Historians widely believe the pastry evolved from the Austrian Kipferl, a crescent-shaped baked good dating back centuries. During the 19th century, French bakers refined the technique into the laminated, buttery pastry we know and love today.
That signature flaky texture comes from lamination, a process of folding layers of butter into dough repeatedly. It is time-consuming, technical and requires patience.
Long before croissants became social media stars, they were a celebration of craftsmanship.
Why Croissants Have Never Really Gone Out of Style
Some food trends burn bright and disappear. Croissants never really did.
Part of the reason is versatility. A croissant can be breakfast, a snack, a treat or something paired with coffee during a busy day. It doesn’t require a special occasion, but it somehow makes any occasion feel a little more special.
There is also something more emotional at play.
Croissants are closely tied to routine and ritual. They remind us to pause. To sit down for a few minutes. To enjoy a moment before rushing to the next thing.
At Fournos, we see this every day.
Croissants are not chosen simply for convenience. They are chosen for the moment they create.
What makes our croissants particularly special is that they are still rolled by hand. Behind every croissant is a baker who has spent years perfecting the art of lamination and shaping. It isn’t a batch number or an automated process. It is a real person with skill, experience and pride in their craft.
Every croissant that reaches our shelves has been touched by human hands before it reaches yours.
In a world increasingly driven by speed and automation, that feels worth celebrating.
You can explore our croissant selection here.
The TikTok Croissant Moment
If it feels like croissants are everywhere online right now, that is not an exaggeration.
Social media, particularly TikTok and Instagram, has introduced a new generation to the beauty of the croissant. From cube croissants and creative fillings to oversized pastries and bakery hybrids, croissants have become some of the most shared food content online.
What makes them so suited to social media is how visual they are. The layers. The crunch. The golden finish. The buttery pull-apart texture.
But perhaps the most interesting trend is the growing appreciation for the craft behind them.
Videos showcasing lamination, proofing and baking regularly attract millions of views. People are no longer just interested in eating croissants; they want to understand how they are made.
In many ways, social media hasn’t changed the croissant. It has simply reminded people why they fell in love with it in the first place.
Where Croissants Fit Into Everyday Life Now
Despite all the online attention and evolving trends, the croissant still works best in its simplest form.
Freshly baked. Paired with coffee. Enjoyed without rushing.
Perhaps that’s why it continues to stay relevant across so many different contexts. It feels indulgent but not complicated. Familiar yet still special.
Today, croissants sit comfortably between tradition and trend. They are just as likely to appear in a viral TikTok video as they are on a quiet breakfast table.
At Fournos, that balance is exactly what we love about them.
Over the years, we’ve received many compliments about our croissants, but one remains a favourite. A customer who had travelled extensively around the world told us that we made the best croissant she had eaten south of France.
Whether that title belongs to us is not for us to say.
What we do know is that people remember great pastry.
Every regular customer has their own Fournos story. A favourite table. A familiar face behind the counter. A morning ritual before work. A meeting that turned into a friendship. A warm chocolate croissant enjoyed straight from the oven.
Those moments may seem small, but they’re often the ones people remember most.
Perhaps that’s why croissants never go out of style.
Long after the trends have faded, people still remember how they made them feel.
And that is something worth holding on to.
