Ep 5. Le Pain Quotidien x Allison Chen

In this issue:

• 📅 Upcoming Event: Join us on April 2nd for a one-of-a-kind event! It will be an incredible way to meet other creators and marketers in person. We’re breaking down how brands, creators, and media can tap into some of the world’s biggest events. Don’t miss it!

• 🎂 Creator x Brand Collaboration: How Le Pain Quotidien can team up with creators like Allison Chen to turn baking into an immersive content experience.

• 🎬 Brand & Creator Strategies: Actionable takeaways for marketers and creators to apply to their own content or high-level partnerships.

📢 Let’s keep building this community. If you learned something new or thought this was interesting I would really appreciate this if you could share this with a creator or marketing friend who you think would find value in this! Please forward them this email or drop the link below in a group chat.

I started this from zero, and we’ve already grown to 1,000+ readers purely through word of mouth. Every new person helps us make bigger, better events and content, and I’d love for you to be part of that growth.

💬 If you share it, reply and let me know. I always appreciate it!

THE SOCIAL ARENA:

How Major Events Dominate Digital Culture

🏀 Join us on April 2nd! 🏀

Big events take over the internet. From March Madness buzzer-beaters to F1’s last-lap drama, Olympic breakout stars, and viral music festival moments, these cultural touchpoints dominate social feeds and brand strategies.

Join us as we dive into how brands and creators can authentically tap into these moments across sports, entertainment, and beyond. Expect sharp insights, top-tier networking, and a high-energy crowd.

Oh, and since we’re hosting this on a court where LeBron, KD, and Melo have played… we might shoot a few hoops too.

🚀 Why you should be there:
✅ Connect with top creators & marketers
✅ Discover how brands and creators can authentically tap into cultural moments
✅ Walk away with actionable strategies for content that wins

RSVP below to be a part of the conversation! 🎟️🔥

THE INSPIRATION:

This week, we’re diving into a brand and creator partnership that needs to happen. Like most things, my best ideas come from meeting new people and finding unexpected connections in everyday moments. Case in point: I went to a creator event and met Allison Chen, who had made a 10-foot-long cake. Not just any cake—three different flavors, each one more insane than the last.

Allison Chen: IG / TT / YT + Her Recipes

I love to bake and have been thinking about taking a French pastry class at some point. While looking into it, I remembered that Le Pain Quotidien used to offer baking workshops, but I couldn’t find a current class schedule. That got me thinking: what if they partnered with creators to bring these workshops back? It would not only revive the experience but also boost brand awareness and help them reach a whole new audience.

The campaign is titled The Everyday Pâtisserie:

Je parle un peu français (I speak a little French) but for our non-French speakers 

• Le Pain Quotidian is French for “The Daily Bread” or the Everday Bread.

• A Pâtisser is French for pastry chef 

• A Pâtisserie is French for a shop where French pastries and cakes are sold

• You pronounce Pâtisser like Pa-Tis-Ee-Yay (The Everday Pâtisser rhymes)

THE CONCEPT:

Le Pain Quotidien has long been known for its rustic breads, cozy cafés, and European-style dining experience. But one of its lesser-known offerings? Pastry-making workshops. A hands-on experience that connects customers to the art of French baking.

Enter Allison Chen, a pastry chef and creator who has built an audience around her stunning confections, deep knowledge of classic techniques, and at times goofball personality. She didn’t just wake up one day as a master pâtisser, she trained at a French pastry school, where she honed her craft in an immersive, classroom setting.

I think she should bring that experience back to life, not as a student, but as a teacher.

The Everyday Pâtisserie is a multi-tiered partnership between Le Pain Quotidien and Allison Chen that turns baking into an interactive storytelling experience. From nostalgic reflections to hands-on classes to an in-store product collaboration, this campaign brings the art of pâtisserie to life in a way that feels personal, experiential, and creator-driven.

THE FORMAT: The Everday Pâtisser 

Every great chef starts as a student. Every expert was once a beginner. And every creator, at some point, had to take the leap from learning to leading. The Everyday Pâtisserie is a multi-phase journey that mirrors that exact transformation, bringing audiences along as Allison goes from student to master, from classroom to café, from learning the craft to redefining it.

📍Phase 1: The Student’s Journey

Allison reflects on her time as a pastry student, sharing never-before-seen footage and stories from her French pastry school days. This nostalgic, behind-the-scenes content highlights her love for the craft and sets the stage for the partnership, showing that even masters were once students.

👩‍🍳 Phase 2: From Student to Teacher

Le Pain Quotidien hosts an exclusive Madeleine-making class led by Allison, bringing back the hands-on workshop experience that LPQ hasn’t widely offered in recent years.

• Two potential directions:

  • Public event: Ticketed masterclass for pastry lovers and aspiring bakers.

  • Creator-exclusive event: LPQ sponsors an invite-only experience for top food & lifestyle creators to immerse themselves in the baking process, generating buzz and high-quality UGC.

🍰 Phase 3: A Day in the Life - The Master at Work

A content series showcasing Allison running her own pastry class, offering a first-hand look at the art of teaching. This behind-the-scenes footage creates a strong emotional arc, reinforcing the full-circle journey from student to master while showcasing the LPQ experience in a fresh, engaging way.

⭐️ Phase 4: The Signature Pastry - The Alchenny Madeleine

Allison’s signature pastry, The Alchenny Madeleine, officially debuts on the LPQ menu. This isn’t just a collaboration, it’s an in-store affiliate activation where Allison earns a commission from every sale of her creation, driving organic promotion from both her audience and LPQ customers.

Bonus Concept: Café & Croissant Creator Series

A relaxed in-store creator gathering where Allison and other food creators discuss the art of French pastry over coffee and croissants, turning LPQ locations into content hubs and conversation spaces.

What’s in it for Allison?

👩‍🍳 From Creator to Culinary Authority – Hosting a class at LPQ establishes Allison as a leading voice in modern pâtisserie, expanding her influence beyond social media. Think about the value Peleton Instructors have gotten from being associated with the brand.

📚 Cookbook & Online Class Launchpad – The workshop builds momentum for a future cookbook, online course, or digital pastry academy by proving audience demand.

💰 Revenue & Business Growth – This partnership creates multiple income streams, including paid event appearances, and affiliate commissions from a specialty pastry “The Alchenny Madeleine” that would be available in store.

📈 Brand Expansion & Audience Growth – Aligning with LPQ gives Allison exposure to food industry professionals, new customers, and media opportunities, growing her audience beyond digital platforms.

What’s in it for LPQ?

🍰 Bridging the Gap Between Creators & Culinary Brands - LPQ becomes an industry leader by pioneering creator-driven food collaborations in a space where cafés have yet to capitalize.

📍 In-Store Traffic & Experiential Marketing - Creator-led pastry workshops bring new customers into LPQ locations, turning them into immersive culinary destinations.

📲 Massive Social Media Exposure - Partnering with Allison fuels organic reach, viral content, and brand awareness without traditional advertising costs.

💰 New Revenue Streams & Sales Growth - Exclusive creator-backed menu items and ticketed workshops introduce fresh revenue opportunities that extend beyond standard café sales.

FOR THE BRANDS:

1. Turn Your Location Into a Content Playground: Food brands struggle to create engaging content, but a creator-led experience, whether it’s a workshop, menu item, or event, fuels endless storytelling, behind-the-scenes footage, and organic buzz. TBH any brand or company with a physical location can do this.

2. Make Your Brand a Cultural Touchpoint, Not Just a Place to Eat: For restaurants by bringing in a creator, your restaurant or café goes from being a dining spot to an experience.

FOR THE CREATORS:

1. Use Brand Partnerships to Reinforce Your Authority: Just like top influencers leverage major collaborations to build credibility, aligning with an established brand solidifies your expertise and gives you recognition beyond social media.

2. Cross-Promote Your Existing Work for Maximum Impact: Use brand-backed events, activations, and content as a way to plug your own projects, drive traffic to your platforms, and convert new audiences into long-term followers.

3. Make Every Partnership a Multi-Platform Content Series: A single collaboration can fuel weeks of content, from behind-the-scenes prep to fan reactions, process videos, and the final product launch.

If you’ve made it this far, just know that while I’m the one cooking up these concepts, I appreciate you taking a bite. Hopefully, it was delicious enough to make you want to snap a pic, because, let’s be real, phones eat first.

Whether you’re here for inspiration, brainstorming your brand collabs, or ready to whip up something yourself, I appreciate you being part of this community.

Fun Jacob fact: I used to bake quite a bit in high school, but if I tried to pull off a 10-foot cake like Allison, I’d probably set off a fire alarm at this point.

But seriously, thanks for reading and being part of this journey. Hopefully, we’ll see you at our next event! And if you’ve got any thoughts on how to make this newsletter even better, I’m always open to a little creative feedback, just like a good recipe, there’s always room for improvement.

Best,

Jacob