What would you do for a chocolate muffin?
That’s what independent designer Kelin Carolyn Zhang asked herself as she watched Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen proclaim his love for the chocolate muffins served in the Olympic Village on TikTok.
Christiansen posted over a dozen videos about his beloved “choccy muffin,” and Olympic stars like “Pommel horse guy” Stephen Nedoroscik and track and field gold medalist Gabby Thomas also shared their love for the baked good.
Zhang was intrigued.
Three weeks later, she tracked down the French supplier, facilitated a shipment of muffins to the U.S. and dealt with the resulting challenges, all to bring the viral muffins to New York City for a pop-up event. In a thread on X, Zhang detailed how she worked with New York City cafe Isshiki Matcha to bring the viral muffins to hundreds of New Yorkers on Aug. 17.
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“I’m a big believer in just trying new things,” Zhang told NBC News. “I think this was one of the more extreme examples of that.”
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Her viral quest for the muffins began: she produced and posted several videos trying to identify the creator of the muffins. She eventually discovered that they were made by Coup de pates. Around then, a stranger commented that her friend Angel Zheng, the owner of Isshiki Matcha, would be willing to help her import and sell the muffins.
i decide to procrastinate on work and track down who made these muffins
— kelin (@kelin_online) August 19, 2024
i post a couple of tiktoks evaluating different options that i had seen mentioned online: otis spunkmeyer, delifrance, coup de pates
(this was over ~6hrs on tue 7/30 evening)https://t.co/Y1MzBYEFYw
“I think I’m the only crazy cafe owner in New York City that would agree to such a short amount of time to do something at this capacity,” Zheng said in an interview with NBC News.
Isshiki Matcha, which has been open for four months, primarily sells premium matcha and matcha drinks. Zheng described her interest in bringing authentic food to bigger audiences and doing events like the collaboration with Zhang or fashion pop-ups.
In her thread, Zhang detailed the obstacles she faced in securing the muffins, including: having to reach out to Coup de pates on multiple platforms, getting customs and FDA approval and worrying about the muffins spoiling.
When the muffins arrived in the U.S., the customs broker told Zhang that they couldn’t be delivered the day of because the refrigerated truck was too small. The broker offered to ask the airline to store the muffins in a freezer until the next morning and then eventually was able to deliver the same day. Zheng even bought a new freezer to store the muffins.
Zhang described her mindset throughout as focusing on one problem at a time and being solution-oriented.
The day of the event, hundreds of New Yorkers lined up starting at 6 a.m. to buy a muffin. After eating some themselves and sharing with family and friends, the duo sold the remaining 263 muffins.
The cafe priced each muffin at $10, and Zheng said that most of that went to transport costs and they primarily made money that day when customers bought a matcha alongside the muffin.
While some online have criticized the hype over a simple muffin, Zhang said that it was lighthearted fun that allowed fans watching the Olympics from a continent away to feel included.
“I can’t be an Olympic athlete,” she added. “I could eat this viral muffin that all these Olympic athletes can’t stop talking about.”
Zhang described the muffin as light, moist and not too sweet. “I’m a fan,” she said. However, she was only able to eat three-quarters of a muffin, mostly for a taste test that she posted online, and hopes to try more.
Zhang and Zheng are trying to import another batch of muffins to sell (and eat), but nothing has been finalized yet. Still, what Zhang has cherished the most is the experience.
“Have fun — life is short,” Zhang said. “Be a little silly.”
