Why did Luckin coffee badges start a weighing craze?

Luckin Coffee released its Deer Deer series metal badges this week with a blind box promotion: buy two cups, get one randomly drawn badge. The random mechanism left many fans unable to collect the styles they wanted, with some ordering delivery from two stores over two days and receiving identical badges, and one opening sixteen boxes in two days to complete a set.

To work around the randomness, customers began bringing electronic scales into stores and weighing the boxes to guess which badge was inside, and some compiled the exact weights of the five badges for others to use. The practice spread from a netizen activity into a store norm, with Luckin employees moving from confusion to helping with the weighing during idle time.

Luckin Coffee launched the Deer Deer series metal badges this week, paired with a blind box promotion where buying two cups earns a badge, quickly sparking a buying frenzy among consumers. However, the random blind box mechanism has left many Luckin fans struggling to collect their desired styles—some drank multiple cups without success, while others opened sixteen blind boxes over two days just to complete a set. To solve the blind box dilemma, some consumers have taken a different approach, bringing electronic scales to stores to weigh the boxes and determine which badge is inside, and some have even compiled the exact weights of the five badges for others to reference. This trend of weighing to pick badges has gradually evolved from a spontaneous netizen activity into a store norm, with Luckin employees shifting from initial confusion to understanding, and even actively helping with weighing during idle times. This article will comprehensively review this amusing phenomenon triggered by coffee blind boxes.

Luckin Coffee launched the Deer Deer series metal badges this week, along with a promotion where buying two cups earns a badge. The round and cute deer design, combined with the textured metal material, made the Deer Deer series badges an instant hit, prompting many netizens to place orders.

(Image from Luckin's Xiaohongshu account)

However, getting the metal badge you want isn't so easy. Luckin's promotion uses a random blind box draw, with each order including one badge, and consumers can't know which deer they'll get until they open the package.

Lucky Luckin fans might enjoy the surprise of getting their desired badge while sipping aromatic coffee, satisfying both body and mind; but for less fortunate fans, this blind draw badge promotion might not be so pleasant.

Some netizens reported ordering delivery from two different stores over two consecutive days, only to receive identical badges; others drank Luckin for three days straight but never got the style they wanted. Those who can't get what they want or complete the set look at their metal badges, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

So how can you successfully collect the styles you want?

The most straightforward way is to try again if you don't get it the first time, but each blind box combo means two cups of coffee to drink, and this method doesn't guarantee a full set. One netizen drank 10 coconut lattes without completing the set, while another, helped by a generous colleague, opened 16 blind boxes in two days and barely managed a full set. Clearly, relying on personal luck to collect the entire set of badges is quite challenging for many.

Thus, netizens without wealthy colleagues or the capacity to drink that much coffee came up with a new idea—swapping badges with others in similar situations. This is indeed an effective method, and many netizens successfully got their desired badges by exchanging with colleagues, friends, or online acquaintances.

But some unwilling to give up found another way—bringing a scale directly to Luckin stores to pick badges.

Weighing to pick blind boxes is a common technique among blind box enthusiasts. Troubled by Luckin's random badge promotion, fans bring electronic scales to the store, standing at the counter to select and weigh, using the precise decimal readings to determine if the box contains the one they want.

Some netizens successfully got their desired badges this way, happily taking photos to share, while also sharing tips with other fans still struggling in the "blind draw misery."

Some enthusiastic netizens even compiled the exact weights of the five badges for reference by others wanting to use weighing to get metal badges.

Fans who tried and succeeded spread the word, leading to a noticeable increase in netizens bringing electronic scales to Luckin stores to pick blind boxes recently.

Luckin employees, from initial bewilderment and curiosity to now gradually accepting the practice of weighing to choose badges. When not busy, some employees even help customers who come to borrow scales by weighing for them.

Of course, it's only polite to bother the Luckin staff when the store is relatively idle.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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