CHAGEE's Paris Olympic Pop-up: How a Chinese Tea Brand Got Noticed at Gare Saint-Lazare
During the Paris 2024 Olympics, CHAGEE ran a three-week pop-up tea bar in front of Gare Saint-Lazare. Day one brought more than 1,200 visitors and 5,300 interactions. The project was delivered by Brainsonic Live, Dékuple Group's team in France.
Background: a first appearance in Europe
In summer 2024 CHAGEE had nearly 5,000 stores worldwide, with just over 100 outside China, mostly in Southeast Asia (China Daily, August 2024). According to KrASIA's reporting at the time, it had no stores in Europe.
The Paris Olympics put the world's attention on one city. CHAGEE wanted to use the moment to appear in Europe, and in France in particular: treat the Games as a platform for Chinese–French cultural exchange, introduce the brand to European consumers for the first time and prepare the ground for future store openings. The campaign theme, CHAGEE TOGETHER!, echoes the word "together" in the Olympic motto.
The plan: in front of a railway station, not next to a stadium
The pop-up stood on the Cour de Rome, the forecourt of Gare Saint-Lazare, from 22 July to 11 August 2024: three weeks covering the whole Olympic period.
There were three reasons to choose a station over a venue:
- Steady footfall: Saint-Lazare is the third-busiest railway station in Europe. Commuters, tourists and Olympic spectators pass through all day, so traffic does not depend on one event letting out.
- Cultural recognition: Monet painted this station, and it is a Paris landmark in its own right.
- Room to stay: the forecourt has space for queues, activities and photos.
The structure was a trailer that unfolds into a tea bar with a wooden deck. The design used the signature blue of the CHAGEE cup, with a giant cup in blue-and-white porcelain patterns on each side, recognizable from across the square. Inside, the space drew on tea trees, tea leaves and the Ancient Tea Horse Road.
On site: one signature tea and a few games anyone can try
Visitors could taste a freshly made cup of the signature BoYa JueXian (jasmine green milk tea) for free and join several activities:
- Tea by scent: identifying teas by their aroma.
- Pitch-pot (touhu): an ancient Chinese banquet game of throwing arrows into a pot.
- Cuju: the ancient Chinese form of football, a natural fit with the Olympic theme.
Those who took part could collect gifts such as tote bags and scarves (Xinhua, August 2024).
The product was localized ahead of time. Xinhua reported that some ingredients had to be sourced in France, and that product developers travelled there in April to test recipes before settling on the one closest to the taste in China.
Results: 1,200+ visitors on day one, tens of thousands over three weeks
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Visitors, day one | 1,200+ | Project data |
| Interactions, day one | 5,300, including gifts and free tea | Project data |
| Customers served, day one | Nearly 2,000, more than half of them international tourists | On-site staff, quoted by China Daily |
| Three-week total | Projected to exceed 10,000; staff estimated tens of thousands | China Daily, KrASIA |
The project data and the press figures are measured differently: the former counts visits and interactions, the latter are estimates from staff on site, so the numbers do not match exactly.
The pop-up also earned wide coverage and word of mouth. China Daily, Xinhua, Yicai Global and KrASIA all reported on it, and Xinhua noted that CCTV host Bai Yansong and reporter Wang Bingbing visited in early August. Paris-based creators and Chinese students posted about it on TikTok and Xiaohongshu. Brainsonic's website still carries a video from the site.
Who delivered it: the group's team in France
The project was delivered by Dékuple Group's team in France. Brainsonic Live, the group's event marketing agency, built the pop-up and ran it on site for three weeks. In its news post, Brainsonic describes it as a Brainsonic Live × Dékuple project, aimed at raising awareness of the brand and goodwill towards it in Europe.
Running a three-week activation on a station forecourt in central Paris means permits, construction, security and Olympic traffic restrictions, all of which call for a team that knows the local rules. For a Chinese brand, having one group that can work with headquarters in China and execute in France makes coordination much simpler.
Four lessons for brands going abroad
- Ride a major event, but pick a spot on everyday routes. Sponsorship near venues is expensive and crowds come in bursts. A transport hub has people all day, and stopping costs them little.
- For a first meeting, lower the barrier to trying. Free tasting and simple activities make passers-by who have never heard of the brand willing to stop. The goal at this stage is awareness and goodwill, not sales.
- Make the culture hands-on. Pitch-pot, cuju and tea by scent take a few minutes each. They are easier to remember than display panels and easier to film.
- Localize the product early. Ingredient, taste and supply-chain tests started three months before the event, which is why the cup served on site matched the one in China.
If your brand is considering Europe, or needs marketing that works across China and Europe, talk to us.
Key Data & Sources
| Data | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Day-one visitors and interactions | 1,200+ visitors, 5,300 interactions | Dékuple project data, July 2024 |
| Dates, location and delivery team | 22 July to 11 August 2024, forecourt of Gare Saint-Lazare | Brainsonic website, 26 July 2024 |
| Day-one customers and three-week projection | Nearly 2,000; projected to exceed 10,000 | China Daily, 6 August 2024 |
| Activities, gifts and product localization | Tea by scent, pitch-pot, cuju; recipe tests in France in April | Xinhua, 15 August 2024 |
| Estimated visitors over three weeks | Tens of thousands | KrASIA, 2024 |
FAQ
When and where was CHAGEE's Paris pop-up?
From 22 July to 11 August 2024 on the forecourt of Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris. It ran for three weeks, covering the whole Paris Olympic period.
How many people came on the first day?
Project data shows more than 1,200 visitors and 5,300 interactions on day one. China Daily, quoting on-site staff, reported nearly 2,000 customers served, more than half of them international tourists. The two are measured differently.
Who delivered the project?
Dékuple Group's team in France. Brainsonic Live, the group's event marketing agency, built and operated the pop-up. Brainsonic's website describes it as a Brainsonic Live × Dékuple project.
Did CHAGEE have stores in Europe at the time?
According to press reports from August 2024, CHAGEE's 100-plus overseas stores were mainly in Southeast Asia and it had none in Europe. The pop-up was mainly about building brand awareness. For later store openings, refer to the brand's official information.