TOUS les JOURS, the Korean bakery café chain with more than 200 U.S. locations, is serving as the official bakery café sponsor of BTS THE CITY ARIRANG NEW YORK, running July 24 through Aug. 9 across four participating cafés in the New York metro area. The promotion layers limited-time menu items, exclusive merchandise, digital stamp rallies, and four branded pop-up events into what the brand is positioning as an experiential foodservice moment tied to one of the year's largest cultural events.
The Activation Footprint
Four cafés are carrying the full program: the Dumbo location in Brooklyn, the Union Street café in Flushing, the American Dream Mall café in East Rutherford, N.J., and the Madison Square Park café in Manhattan. That last location also hosts the Weverse Stamp Rally through Aug. 3, where guests scan QR codes to collect digital stamps — a mechanic that bridges in-café traffic with the broader fan-app ecosystem.
Pop-up events run July 29 through Aug. 1, one per location, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, offering complimentary samples, exclusive gifts, and photo moments. TOUS les JOURS also joins the official three-day ARMY 'MADANG' fan gathering at the Korean Cultural Center in Manhattan (Aug. 1–3), where the brand will serve signature menu items and distribute branded merchandise including stickers, slap bracelets, coupons, and spin-wheel prizes.
Menu and Merch
The centerpiece product is an exclusive BTS THE CITY ARIRANG Cake, available only during the promotional window. Alongside it, participating cafés are spotlighting core Korean bakery items — Red Bean Bread, Kimchi Croquette, Milk Cream Bread, Caramel Apple Pie, Iced Ube Latte, and Strawberry Lemonade — that already anchor the chain's everyday foodservice program. Guests can also receive BTS THE CITY ARIRANG merchandise with qualifying purchases through Aug. 9, while supplies last.
"Korean culture is not a trend for us. It is at the heart of our food, our hospitality, and the experiences we create every day," said Max Gallegos, Chief Marketing Officer of TOUS les JOURS. The quote underscores a positioning strategy that leans into cultural authenticity rather than treating the K-pop moment as opportunistic co-branding.
Why Operators Should Watch
The activation is a useful case study for multi-unit foodservice operators navigating the intersection of fandom culture and café traffic-driving. Limited-time offerings (LTOs) tied to entertainment properties have become a reliable mechanism to lift dispensed beverage and bakery attach rates, particularly among younger consumer segments who index high on both K-pop fandom and premium bakery spending.
TOUS les JOURS, owned by South Korean conglomerate CJ Foodville, operates more than 1,750 locations worldwide. Its U.S. franchise model — now past 200 cafés — has grown steadily on the back of Korean food culture's rising mainstream profile, a trend that shows no signs of plateauing. For franchise-minded operators evaluating emerging bakery café concepts, the brand's ability to command official sponsorship status at a global music event signals a level of cultural capital that translates directly into foot traffic and earned media.
The BTS ARIRANG album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March 2026, and the associated world tour has broken attendance records — giving TOUS les JOURS a sponsorship platform with demonstrably large reach among its target demographic.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
