Kolkata Chai Co.

Limited-edition NYC café pop-up

Launched immi’s first café partnership with Kolkata Chai Co.: an 11-day NYC masala ramen pop-up that sold 211 meals, collected 300 emails, and generated 251K tracked campaign views.

Tracked campaign views251K

Meals sold · 11 days211

Emails collected300

My role

I developed the concept and business case, led the partnership, and coordinated both teams across product, creative, launch planning, and promotion.

The challenge

How could we introduce immi’s new masala ramen to South Asians who loved Maggi noodles but wanted better nutrition? A café pop-up would let people taste it before buying a pack.

My approach

Start with a shared audience

KCC had the chai, the café, and a South Asian community. immi brought the noodles. Together, we could turn a familiar comfort food into a reason to visit.

The NYC chai brand later attracted Hasan Minhaj and chef Vikas Khanna’s investment group as backers.

Give both teams one launch plan

I brought tasks, owners, deadlines, and briefs into one shared plan—from product testing and shipments to signage, content, and events. immi supplied the noodles and masala seasoning; KCC cooked and served the dish at its Nolita café.

Reach people who could actually visit

I coordinated a friends-and-family preview, creator invitations, social promotion, and local customer emails. In-store QR codes captured sign-ups.

I also pitched NYC discovery accounts. Our event notes credited NYC Free’s post with bringing in 80% of the line.

Outcome

211 meals sold in 11 days
300 email addresses collected
251K tracked campaign views

The largest Reel reached 95.8K views. Campaign counts include post-event content and email/SMS; they are cumulative, not unique reach.

What I learned

Local attention drives local action. NYC Free brought people through the door. For a pop-up, reaching nearby customers mattered more than broad exposure.

Test the dish in the actual kitchen. Grilling softened the masala flavor, and noodle cook time slowed service. The recipe needed to work for the café as well as the customer.

Give the preview more lead time. Earlier invitations and a rain plan would have helped turn more RSVPs into attendance.

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The campaign in numbers

Instagram: 186,525
X: 37,400
LinkedIn: 5,025
Email / SMS: 22,137
Campaign total: 251,087

Cumulative recorded counts, including post-event content. Email/SMS is included as recorded in the campaign tracker; this is not unique reach.