Why Was the Laundry Detergent Milk Tea Removed?

A milk tea sold in a container shaped like a laundry detergent bottle, from the Nanjing Nanyeli restaurant, drew wide attention online for its unusual look and was questioned for possibly misleading children. After public criticism grew, the local market supervision department investigated and the product was removed from shelves entirely. The topic topped Weibo searches with over one hundred million views.

The restaurant said sales had been good and no complaints or accidental consumption cases were reported. One 65-year-old customer described ordering the drink in a set meal and later finding the packaging changed. For anyone experimenting with how to make coffee at home with milk, the case shows why packaging and clear labeling matter as much as the recipe and milk to coffee ratio.

Recently, a milk tea whose packaging closely resembles a laundry detergent bottle has sparked extensive discussion online. This beverage, from the Nanjing Nanyeli restaurant, quickly gained popularity due to its unique appearance, but it has also been questioned for potentially misleading children. As public opinion heated up, the local market supervision department intervened in the investigation, and the product was ultimately removed from shelves entirely. While pursuing innovation, how businesses balance safety and fun has become a question worth pondering.

The milk tea market is becoming increasingly homogenized, and many businesses are racking their brains to stand out from numerous brands. Just yesterday, a milk tea served in a container that closely resembles a laundry detergent bottle attracted a great deal of attention and discussion online. It is reported that this product comes from the Nanjing Nanyeli restaurant.

A reporter contacted the restaurant regarding this laundry detergent bottle milk tea, and a staff member responded that sales of this milk tea were good, no complaints had been received so far, and they had not heard of any incidents of children accidentally consuming laundry detergent.

The matter of the "laundry detergent milk tea going viral" continued to ferment online, and multiple media outlets reported on it. Soon, this topic topped Weibo's trending searches, with views exceeding one hundred million. In response, netizens and media organizations alike expressed their respective views and comments.

A 65-year-old woman once mentioned in a media interview that the set meal she ordered included this milk tea. When the drink arrived, she found the packaging very special and novel, so she asked the server what was inside. But when she later returned to make a purchase again, she found that this milk tea had already changed its packaging, and she felt somewhat regretful about this.

However, more netizens believed that this kind of packaging could easily mislead children and thereby potentially cause personal safety accidents. As online comments became increasingly intense, more and more people began to pay attention to this kind of innovation that crosses the line. On May 16, a staff member of the Market Supervision Administration in the location of the above restaurant said in an interview with Red Star News that relevant complaints had been received, and the Jianye District Market Supervision Administration was about to launch an investigation, with preliminary results to be given within 15 days.

Also on May 16, when a Yangtse Evening Post reporter went to the store for an on-site visit, they found that the outer packaging of this laundry detergent milk tea that had gone viral online was no longer in the style of a laundry detergent bottle, but had been changed to an ordinary plastic cup. However, when ordering through the restaurant's mini-program, the promotional image for this product had not been updated accordingly.

The reporter learned from a staff member of the restaurant that the packaging had been urgently changed in the past two days. The staff member also said that even though the packaging had changed, the drink itself was the same, and the price and total volume had not changed; only the bottle had been swapped.

This milk tea, which originally used outer packaging similar to a laundry detergent bottle, was actually priced at 18 yuan per bucket, with a capacity of about 500 milliliters. Due to the change in outer packaging, the number of customers going to the store to buy it actually decreased because of the packaging change.

Another reporter noted that Nanjing Nanyeli restaurant has three stores in Nanjing. On May 17, all three Thai restaurants said they had removed all "laundry detergent milk tea" products from shelves. This highly controversial "laundry detergent milk tea" product could no longer be found on major food delivery platforms either. A staff member at one of the stores told the reporter that removing this packaged product from shelves was required by the head office, and that "it will not be sold again in the future."

Facing fierce competition, businesses keep thinking hard about flavors, varieties, and packaging to attract more young consumers. Previously, a netizen in Suzhou, Jiangsu, bought a viral cleaning agent online. The packaging design of this cleaning agent was similar to a bottled orange juice. The outer packaging bottle was transparent, the semi-fluid liquid appeared orange-yellow, and it had a strong orange scent. The outer packaging also had an image of an orange printed on it.

Because the text on the packaging was in Japanese, the elderly person at home could not read it. While the children were out, the elderly person mistook the cleaning agent for orange juice and gave it to the child to drink, ultimately causing the child to be rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.