What Do Coffee Ingredients and Likeness Rights Have in Common?

A Beijing coffee store has drawn social media attention with a latte series called "I Want to Soak," priced at 38 yuan per cup. Its selling point is a marshmallow printed with a male celebrity's face placed on top of the drink. Customers can add more face marshmallows for 10 yuan each, with 48-yuan two-person and 88-yuan five-person options. The format brought crowds of fans, and also controversy over unauthorized use of celebrity likenesses.

Some consumers said the printed faces hurt their appetite; more questioned whether using celebrity images as a promotional selling point infringes portrait rights. The case highlights a gap between coffee ingredients innovation and legal limits. For any coffee store, creative marketing is encouraged, but it has to stay inside the legal framework, and the debate over likeness rights is likely to continue.

Recently, a latte series called "I Want to Soak" launched by a coffee shop in Beijing has attracted attention on social media. The series features marshmallows printed with the faces of male celebrities as its selling point, priced at 38 yuan each, with the option to add more marshmallows for an extra fee, and even offers a 48-yuan two-person option and an 88-yuan five-person option. This novel format has attracted a large number of fans to check in, but it has also sparked controversy: some consumers believe that face-printed marshmallows ruin their appetite, while more people question whether the shop's unauthorized use of celebrity likenesses as a promotional selling point may constitute infringement. Innovation in the coffee industry is worth encouraging, but it must be carried out within the legal framework.

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Have you ever heard of a coffee that lets you get "up close and personal" with a celebrity for just thirty-eight yuan? Don't get the wrong idea—the word "soak" here is purely literal.

Recently, a latte launched by a coffee shop in Beijing has been widely shared on Xiaohongshu. Paired with a product name like "I Want to Soak…," it creates the illusion that one can "soak" a celebrity, attracting many netizens to visit and take photos. Some netizens commented that they simply appreciate this kind of rule-breaking coffee shop.

Browsing the shop's online menu, one can find that the "I Want to Soak" series lists quite a few celebrity "items," which are actually just a marshmallow printed with a celebrity's face placed on top of a latte, priced at 38 yuan per cup.

It is understood that each cup of coffee is not limited to just one face marshmallow; they can be stacked freely, with each additional marshmallow costing an extra 10 yuan. The menu even offers options like the 48-yuan "I Want a Threesome" (including two marshmallows) and the 88-yuan "I Want to Be Emperor" (choose any five marshmallows).

Judging from the menu, the celebrities printed on the marshmallows are all male artists, including both popular young idols who have risen to fame in recent years and many male artists known for their talent, such as "I Want to Soak the Energetic Girl Guo Degang" and "I Want to Soak Yu Qian Who Smokes, Drinks, and Perms His Hair." Not long ago, the shop also revealed: "The 'I Want to Soak' series has been quite popular lately. Currently, Guo Degang is out of stock."

This novel format has attracted a large number of fans to "watch from the front row." Fans of the celebrities listed on the menu have begun competing over sales, extending fan support and chart-ranking to all areas of daily consumption, while fans of artists not yet included have left comments hoping to soak their own "idols." Some netizens jokingly asked, "Is the entertainment industry fully present today?" The shop humorously replied, "Basically, only those who have won awards can stay now."

However, everyone has different positions and levels of acceptance—some find it cute, while others find it eerie. For ordinary consumers without a fan filter, this kind of coffee art may be too avant-garde. Some customers believe that printing a full portrait on candy already makes it hard to work up an appetite, let alone just a single oversized face. Netizens commented: "Zoom in and you somewhat lose your appetite" and "A menu like this would only make me resolutely go drink somewhere else."

By contrast, another group of netizens is more concerned about legality: does this kind of practice infringe on portrait rights? Although the shop has noted in the menu section that the meme images are free gifts and not for profit, and that what is actually being sold is the latte and marshmallows.

But some netizens pointed out that it cannot be denied that the shop does use celebrity memes and related product names as promotional selling points, and the prerequisite for doing so is obtaining copyright and authorization. In response, some netizens sharply commented: "Are these few cups enough to cover a lawsuit?" "Stars: See you in court with your lousy marshmallows!"

There have been precedents for coffee-related infringement. Last August, a Manner Coffee store in Shanghai, without obtaining permission from the Olympic symbol rights holder, produced and sold coffee containing a latte art pattern resembling "Bing Dwen Dwen," and was fined 1,000 yuan by the Shanghai Putuo District Market Supervision Administration.

When simple coffee offerings can no longer satisfy public demand, many coffee shops take unconventional paths, attempting innovations in coffee ingredients, latte art, packaging, and other aspects to attract more consumers. However, while grabbing attention, businesses should still pay more attention to avoiding legal risks and innovate within a lawful, reasonable, and sensible scope!

Image source: Internet

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