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China News Service, July 26 (Yan Shuxin, intern Li Yimeng) The Paris Olympics is about to open. Recently, China News Service learned from many local Chinese restaurants that as contestants and spectators from all over the world rushed to Paris, they have clearly felt the increase in customer flow and are ready to welcome the arrival of the Olympics.

　　Hotpot restaurant daily turnover increased by 28% year-on-year

The Shooloongkan hotpot restaurant located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris is the only store of the Chinese hotpot chain brand Shooloongkan in France. It has been in business for three years and is a famous "Internet celebrity restaurant" in the local area, attracting a large number of Chinese students and tourists to dine in the restaurant. Many celebrities such as Yi Nengjing, Qin Lan, and Dong Jie have also been encountered here by netizens.

It is understood that as a franchise store of Xiaolongkan, every brick and tile, table, chair, bench, bowl, chopstick, pot base and seasoning of Xiaolongkan Paris store were shipped from China. Even the decoration of the store was designed and decorated by designers sent by Xiaolongkan to Paris.

"We have always insisted on making authentic Sichuan hotpot. The base oil and base ingredients are all sent from the domestic headquarters, and the other ingredients are specially supplied by our preferred European suppliers." Zheng Jinbiao, person in charge of Xiaolongkan Paris store, introduced to China Business Network.

Zheng Jinbiao said that usually local customers account for about 50% of the store's customers. With the Olympics approaching, the number of foreign customers visiting the store has increased significantly. "Some of them are athletes. We are very happy that they can choose Xiaolongkan as their dining choice during their stay in Paris."

Zheng Jinbiao introduced that in recent days, the store's daily turnover has increased significantly, up about 28% year-on-year, and the turnover rate has remained above 3.5 rounds.

"Our store is located in the core business district of Paris, which is the most concentrated place for commercial activities in the city. It has very good transportation advantages and a dense population. Based on this geographical location and the passenger flow brought by the Olympics, we conservatively estimate that the passenger flow in August will exceed 9,000 people." Zheng Jinbiao said.

Zheng Jinbiao mentioned that he is very optimistic about the store's business performance during the Olympic Games and is fully prepared to welcome friends from all over the world.

In anticipation of the Olympics, Shooloongkan Paris store not only prepared atmosphere materials for customers to cheer for their favorite athletes, but also increased the number of employees in the store and planned to extend the store's business hours.

"We temporarily added four service staff this month. To ensure the quality of service, they have completed the basic training on the restaurant's operating procedures and service standards in advance. We usually close at around 11:30 p.m., and considering the demand for watching games and post-game gatherings, the store will appropriately extend its business hours," said Zheng Jinbiao.

　　"Bo Ya's Broken Strings" and "Succulent Grapes" are popular in Paris

Some Chinese catering brands also took advantage of the Olympic Games to make their first appearance on the streets of Paris.

On July 5, the pop-up store "HEYTEA Paris Watching Tea Room" built by Chinese new tea brand HEYTEA in the 11th district of Paris officially opened. During this trip to Paris, HEYTEA brought four classic products, "Succulent Grapes", "Mango Dew", "Roasted Brown Sugar Milk", and "Zhizhi Green Beauty Tea Queen", as well as sports badges, tea bowls and other peripherals that combine Chinese aesthetics with sports event elements.

According to store manager Helene Aragon, on the first day of opening, HEYTEA Paris pop-up store achieved sales of over 10,000 euros (about 79,000 yuan).

Helene Aragon in front of HEYTEA Paris pop-up store. Photo provided by the interviewee

"After the Olympics opens, people can drink tea and watch the games here. We want global tourists coming to Paris to better experience Chinese tea culture," said Helene Aragon.

In addition to HEYTEA, on July 22, the offline pop-up store TEA BAR, which the Bawang Cha Ji team had been preparing for half a year, was also opened at the Saint-Lazare train station in Paris. On the opening day, it attracted nearly 2,000 people to queue up for check-in.

Gu Qiao is one of the persons in charge of the pop-up store of Bawang Tea in Paris. She told China Business Network that she has been staying in Paris almost all the time in the past two months to ensure the smooth opening of the pop-up store. "We have not officially opened a store in France yet. This time we are taking advantage of the Olympic Games to open a pop-up store first, taking this opportunity to let more people experience our Chinese tea, 'using Chinese tea to make friends around the world', so we chose the square outside the train station where there is a lot of traffic."

Bawang Cha Ji's pop-up store at Saint-Lazare train station in Paris. Photo provided by the interviewee

Gu Qiao introduced that the entire pop-up store is dominated by the iconic blue color of the Bawang Tea Cup, and integrates representative tea culture elements such as tea trees, tea leaves, and the Ancient Tea Horse Road, making it particularly dazzling in the square. In addition, the pop-up store also launched interactive games with "Chinese elements" such as "Smell the Tea", pitching pots, and Cuju, which attracted many people to experience.

"Currently, our pop-up store has a daily traffic of between 1,000 and 2,000 people. In the first few days after the opening, the majority of customers were local Chinese students. As the Olympics approached, we can clearly see more foreign friends who are interested in Chinese culture coming to experience it," said Gu Qiao.

It is reported that this time, Bawang Tea Lady only brought one big item, "Bai Ya Jue Xian", to Paris, and gave it away for free to local tourists and Chinese students.

"Since some raw materials need to be purchased locally, our product development colleagues came to France in April to test the product, and finally finalized the current formula that is closest to the domestic 'Bo Ya Jue Xian'." Gu Qiao said.

Gu Qiao introduced that the pop-up store activity of Bawang Chaji will last for 20 days, and after the opening of the Olympic Games, the pop-up store will increase the daily supply of tea. "With the subsequent increase in the flow of people, our daily activity time will also be further increased."

(For more reporting clues, please contact the author of this article, Yan Shuxin: [email protected]) (China News Service APP)

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Editors: Chang Tao and Luo Kun