A Singapore content creator’s casual joke about wanting a life-sized standee of himself outside a Chagee outlet has turned into reality — after the Chinese tea chain agreed to make his unusual request happen.
Muhammad Rifqi Solihin Muhammad Hairi, 25, had initially been joking about something much simpler: getting Chagee to open a branch at his neighbourhood mall, Northpoint City in Yishun.
Months later, not only did the outlet open, but Rifqi found himself standing outside it in life-sized cardboard form.
It Started With a Chagee Craving
Rifqi, a Singaporean travel content creator known particularly for content about China, told Berita Harian that his Chagee videos began in April as a way to take a break from his usual, more polished content.
While he was in Kuala Lumpur for work, he woke up craving Chagee and decided to make a spontaneous video about the brand.
In the video, he played the role of a customer, talked about his favourite drinks and jokingly called for Chagee to open a branch at Northpoint City.
The video received around 9,990 likes, encouraging him to continue making similar content.
He eventually produced around 16 Chagee-related videos, most of which were unpaid collaborations or spontaneous posts.
One of his recurring requests was simple: he wanted Chagee at Northpoint City so he could conveniently enjoy his favourite BOYA Jasmine Green Tea.
At the time, there was no indication that the request would actually become reality.
Then Chagee Started Responding
Rifqi’s joke began to take a different turn when Chagee Singapore’s official social media account started responding to his videos.
The brand eventually teased him about meeting at the upcoming Northpoint City outlet.
Rifqi later discovered that the new branch was indeed being prepared at the mall.
That’s when he made another joke.
While filming at the soon-to-open outlet, he joked that he would have a cardboard cutout of himself placed outside the store.
He did not seriously expect the brand to agree.
But Chagee did.
The company eventually contacted him and told him that the idea of putting a life-sized standee of him outside the outlet had been approved.
He Was in China When the Surprise Came
The timing made the story even more unusual.
Rifqi was travelling in Qingdao, China, when Chagee contacted him about the standee.
He arranged an impromptu photoshoot while he was overseas so that the images could be used to produce the life-sized display.
Weeks later, the standee was printed and installed outside the Northpoint City outlet in time for its grand opening in September.
Rifqi said he was genuinely surprised by how far the joke had gone.
What began as an offhand request for a neighbourhood outlet had effectively turned into a brand-backed display featuring himself.
The Standee Became Part of the Opening
The Chagee Northpoint City outlet opened in late September, giving Yishun residents another location to get the tea chain’s drinks.
Northpoint City is located at 930 Yishun Avenue 2, and the mall’s official directory lists its stores across multiple wings and levels.
The standee was displayed outside the new outlet, where Rifqi was also seen celebrating the opening, signing autographs and taking photographs with customers.
The unexpected marketing stunt quickly attracted attention online, with social media users amused by the fact that his joke had actually become reality.
Display Period Gets Extended
The standee was originally supposed to remain outside the outlet only until Sept 29.
But some of Rifqi’s friends and fellow content creators were overseas and asked whether it could stay longer so they could see it when they returned.
Rifqi passed the request on to Chagee.
Once again, the company agreed.
The life-sized standee has now been extended until Oct 13, giving fans and curious shoppers more time to see the unusual display.
More Dreams for the Chagee Fan
The experience has also left Rifqi thinking about what could come next.
He told Berita Harian that he would like to visit Chagee’s factory in China, bring his standee to other outlets and potentially work with the brand to create his own drink.
There is currently no confirmed collaboration for those ideas.
Rifqi acknowledged that they remain ambitions rather than confirmed plans, but he does not think they are impossible after seeing his earlier jokes become reality.
From Casual Videos to an Unexpected Collaboration
Rifqi’s experience is a reminder of how quickly casual social-media content can develop into real-world opportunities.
He did not begin his Chagee videos as a formal advertising campaign. Instead, they started with a simple craving for a drink while he was travelling.
A request for a branch at his neighbourhood mall eventually became a real outlet.
Then a joke about putting his own cardboard cutout outside the store became a real marketing display.
For Rifqi, what began as a way to make lighter, more spontaneous content has turned into one of his most unusual creator experiences yet.
And with the standee remaining at Northpoint City until Oct 13, visitors still have a little more time to see the physical result of a joke that Chagee decided to take seriously.
