At restaurant Bao ExpressAt the bakery Workshop P1 (pronounced “bread”) or even Lipp brewery, the customer experience doesn’t end when you’ve finished your plate. Clothing worn by the team is available for purchase as a souvenir. Perfectly illustrating the growing trend of clothing derived from speech addresses, some even expand the range to sweatshirts, even shirts. “There is real enthusiasm, and this reassures us in the idea that we have an infinite playing field,” explains Camille Fournier, marketing director within the Bertrand Hospitality group responsible for marketing the Lipp brewery. An idea supported by Céline Chung, co-founder of Bao Express, who has continued to expand her clothing range since the idea emerged during the Covid crisis.
Thank you to loyal customers
“We really wanted to extend the Bao universe to people during confinement, and since then, the Bao Market has continued to offer new collections, t-shirts and accessories,” shares Céline with 20 minutes. At the head of a restaurant specializing in Chinese cuisine, she highlights the at-home experience provided by derivative products. This marketing strategy, focused on “fans of the brand”, as Yoland Piris, professor and distribution expert, points out, aims to build customer loyalty: “The interest is twofold, firstly commercial, it allows us to recruit and conquer new customers, and then, in terms of visibility, it strengthens the reputation of the restaurant,” she explains..
An innovation that also broadens the reach to an audience different from the usual audience. “We reach a much younger, streetwear audience with our clothes, but also our usual audience with the classic shirt that can be worn to work. So, the objective is to mix and differentiate the targets,” admits the marketing director of the Bertrand Hospitality group. Produced for restaurant development purposes, Lipp t-shirts are sold only on the Gift Shop website, it is an addition that supports the brand.
At the bakery too
Sometimes, the realization of this commodification comes simply from the desire to please the customer. “The idea for the t-shirts initially was to create an outfit for the team,” says Julien Cantenot, founder of the Atelier P1 bakery and the P1 Bouche restaurant. But on the customer side, everyone was asking for it. And there you have it, the t-shirt we put it there, with the tote bag. We don’t sell a lot of it, but it’s mainly just to show it off. And then he’s funny. We wrote behind it ”Take your time, it grows slowly”, like the long fermentation that we defend in our way of making bread. »
At Bao Express, the sale of team clothing was established in the same way. “We first worked on t-shirts for the waiters, caps for the chefs, and it ended up creating a cool brand that a lot of people were asking for over time,” says Céline Chung, co-founder of the Bao Family. Here, all the elements of the restaurant, from the plate to the waiter’s outfit, create a universe that people seek to make their own. “This encouraged us to launch a Bao Market,” explains Céline Cheung, “with occasional collection releases. »
To expand their approach, the Bao Family has teamed up with Puma to create a football jersey which will be released by the end of the year. A collab that shows the growing interest of ready-to-wear brands in the world of food. Giftshop follows the same vein. Created at the start of 2023, the agency has partnered with restaurants such as Dumbo, Bistrot Paul Bert or Brasserie Lipp in Paris, Maison Arlot Cheng in Nantes, or Le Mercato in Marseille in order to develop merch like each restaurant. On average, the cost of a catering derivative product can be between 30 and 150 euros. At 25 euros, the one from Atelier P1 is one of the cheap ones.
If for this artisanal bakery, the t-shirt is only a goodie intended to build customer loyalty, for certain addresses like those of the Bao Family, this approach represents a first step towards the realization of an unsuspected dream: owning a clothing brand in its own right, like the Hard Rock Café and other renowned brands.