Taiwanese shaken ice-tea brand Chatime has incorporated large areas of 3D-painted walls into the interior design of the tea shops in a move to target female customers who enjoy taking photos in its Japanese stores.
The vivid 3D-painted walls were created by local Japanese designers for people to check in on social media.
The themes and styles vary between outlets. The strategy, which follows the trend to take pictures with bubble tea for social check-ins, has seen customers spending more time queuing for a picture than for a cup of bubble tea.
In a similar move, Chatime has launched limited products with visually appealing packages to encourage instagram posting.
Chatime is now the fastest-growing brand in its category within the territory, with three stores opening every two months. Its shop in Shibuya 109 has regularly reported daily sales of 1000 cups. The firm’s shop in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi District has now become the brand’s top store globally in terms of sales, retailing more than 2000 cups per day.
Chatimed expects to expand to 35 outlets within Japan by the end of this year.