The Belgian bakery chain went viral after refusing to pay an influencer €2,000 to film themselves drinking its coffee, instead releasing a video of its own global chief financial officer, Frank Gysbrechts, enjoying the same drink and a profiterole for free.
Upmarket bakery chain Le Pain Quotidien has publicly pushed back against an influencer who requested €2,000 to film a short promotional clip of themselves drinking the company’s coffee. Rather than pay the fee, the Belgian cafe chain released its own footage showing its 58-year-old global chief financial officer, Frank Gysbrechts, enjoying a coffee and a chocolate-covered profiterole at one of its branches in Brussels. The video, shared on social media on Saturday, has since drawn millions of views and widespread commentary on the growing backlash against paid influencer marketing.
‘Here’s our Global CFO doing it for free’
Posting the clip to its social media accounts, Le Pain Quotidien explained the context behind the video directly in its caption: “An influencer wanted us to pay €2,000 to film themselves having our profiterole and coffee… so here’s our Global CFO doing it for free.” The company added a playful pun alongside the footage, writing: “Our CFO is all about PROFITerol.” The clip, filmed at one of the brand’s Brussels locations, shows Gysbrechts taking a bite of the pastry before washing it down with a sip of his drink.
A strong reaction online
The video quickly resonated with the company’s customers and followers, many of whom said they were “tired of influencers anyway” and praised the executive for doing a “great job” in the clip. English model Kelly Brook was among those to comment publicly, writing: “I’m here for this authentic content!” Carmen Montero Mundt, fiancée of F1 driver George Russell and a social media figure with around one million followers, added: “I support this post.”
Not everyone was fully on board with the stunt, however, with some commenters arguing that “all work deserves to be paid – including creators’ work,” sparking a broader discussion in the comments section around the so-called “influencer recession” and the merits of organic marketing. Model and philanthropist Noreen Goodwin offered a more nuanced take, writing: “So here’s the rub. If an influencer had filmed this, I would have deliberately not had a coffee there out of principle & I hate a grifter. Because you have been unique/funny and you’re not giving my money to influencers, I’m going to have a coffee with you & pay for it. That’s how it works. Influencer marketing is not working – it’s having the opposite effect.”
The video has since attracted more than 4.5 million views on Instagram, with some users joking about Gysbrechts’ apparent flair for content creation. “Great career switch,” one person wrote, while another commented: “Any good CFO would jump on that cost savings.” Several users also drew comparisons to an earlier viral clip of McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczinski eating the chain’s Big Arch burger, a video that was widely mocked online and prompted a tongue-in-cheek response from rival Burger King. Many fans concluded that Gysbrechts had done a “better job” promoting Le Pain Quotidien than Kempczinski had for McDonald’s.
A turbulent recent history in the UK
The viral moment comes after a difficult period for Le Pain Quotidien’s UK operations. In 2023, the chain was forced to close eight branches in London and one in Oxford after the UK business collapsed into administration, a move that resulted in the loss of around 250 jobs. The only UK location to survive the closures was the branch at St Pancras International railway station, which continues to operate today under sister company SPQ Holdings Limited, a separate entity from the business that entered administration.
Le Pain Quotidien chief executive Annick Van Overstraeten confirmed at the time that the affected branches closed on 30 June 2023, after the company had explored “every possible option” to save the business. Van Overstraeten pointed to Brexit as a significant factor behind the collapse, saying it had turned London into a “very difficult market” in which rent alone would have consumed an unsustainable 30 per cent of the company’s budget.
A brand now expanding again
Gysbrechts joined Le Pain Quotidien, French for “the daily bread,” in 2023, having previously worked at Belgian self-service restaurant chain Lunch Garden and cable company Telenet. His viral moment arrives as the company undergoes a significant international expansion, with management targeting around 30 new locations during 2026, including renewed growth in the UK. Van Overstraeten has said the company is in talks with potential partners for new UK franchises in cities, travel hubs and hotels, building on the continued success of the St Pancras site, which benefits from the station’s high passenger footfall.
The company has increasingly moved towards a franchise-led business model, with only a minority of its restaurants worldwide now directly operated by Le Pain Quotidien itself. According to the company, it generated approximately €270 million in revenue in 2025, up from around €259 million the previous year, with management setting a longer-term target of doubling both revenue and its total number of restaurants by 2030. Founded in Brussels in 1990 by Alain Coumont, the chain built its identity around freshly baked bread, simple food and a distinctive communal-table dining concept, and now operates more than 200 locations across over 20 countries.
