What Happened With the Luckin Coffee Red Chamber Collaboration?
Luckin Coffee released its 2023 financial report showing sales above Starbucks China, and said it will keep its current pricing strategy even as the 9.9 promotion shrinks. Its co-branding with the dance drama Dream of the Red Chamber launched tea-coffee drinks, but drew criticism because no themed merchandise came with it, while rival Yihotang offered merchandise on the same theme.
The reduced 9.9 campaign had already upset customers who came for low prices, and the financial report confirmed the discount would not return to its earlier form. Co-branding is Luckin's main tool for keeping fan interest, so the Red Chamber launch was watched closely. Cotti's unlimited 9.9 promotion added pressure, leaving Luckin defending a collaboration that met expectations on drinks but not on merchandise.
Luckin Coffee recently announced its 2023 financial report, with sales surpassing Starbucks China to become the top player in the domestic coffee market. However, the significant reduction of the 9.9 campaign has sparked consumer dissatisfaction, yet the company stated it will stick to its current pricing strategy. To maintain fan enthusiasm, Luckin continues its crazy co-branding strategy, collaborating with the dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" to launch tea-coffee, but after release, it was criticized by netizens for lacking themed merchandise. Meanwhile, Yihotang's co-branding on the same theme clashed but offered merchandise, while Cotti announced unlimited 9.9 promotions, putting Luckin in an awkward position. This article will detailedly analyze the story behind this co-branding storm.
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Recently, Luckin Coffee has been in the spotlight. The 9.9 campaign, which was previously claimed to last for over two years, has been significantly reduced, drawing dissatisfaction from many consumers; soon after, the company released its 2023 financial report, showing that its sales have surpassed Starbucks China, firmly securing the top spot in the domestic coffee market.
Along with the financial report disclosure, Luckin stated it will continue with its existing pricing and development strategy, meaning the 9.9 discount will not return to its original form as consumers wish. This decision will inevitably affect daily store sales and may also lose customers who favored Luckin for its "cheapness."
To maintain the消费 enthusiasm of loyal fans, Luckin continues last year's crazy co-branding approach, recently announcing several collaborations that may launch in the short term. Among them, the collaboration with the dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" is the most eye-catching, having already built up netizens' expectations before launch.
Just before the launch, Luckin unexpectedly clashed with tea beverage brand Yihotang in co-branding, and onlookers were curious about what tricks the two brands would pull under the same theme, making the event a focus of attention even before it went live.
Yesterday, Luckin's co-branding event officially launched, and the disappointment in the comments section matched the previous expectations. It is understood that the two tea-coffee products in this collaboration with the dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" are regular menu items, and the expected merchandise "three-piece set"—paper bags, paper cups, and cup sleeves—were not updated.
"If I had known it wasn't a real collaboration, I wouldn't have bought it," "The first batch of victims who rushed to Luckin's Dream of the Red Chamber have appeared," "I ordered today thinking there would be cup sleeves, I like collecting them, I can't imagine how beautiful the designed cup sleeves for the Dream of the Red Chamber collaboration would be, but there's nothing," netizens flooded Luckin's comment section, hoping for themed merchandise, saying that without merchandise, the collaboration loses its meaning.
On the other hand, netizens' attention was drawn to Yihotang, which frequently appeared in Luckin's comment section. Although the co-branding clash is slightly awkward for Yihotang, compared to Luckin without themed merchandise, Yihotang, which has already released merchandise promotional images, might become the winner of this "Dream of the Red Chamber" collaboration.
Besides Yihotang, which is particularly active in Luckin's comment section, Cotti, which yesterday officially announced a three-month promotion of "good coffee 9.9 unlimited," also successfully caught the attention of coffee consumers. Many consumers with long-term caffeine needs said they might prioritize Cotti over Luckin in the next three months.
Many netizens believe that Luckin's collaboration this time is all talk and no action, with overwhelming early promotion, but in reality, "no merchandise, and the price isn't low either, not as good as Yihotang and Cotti, one has merchandise and the other has low prices." However, some netizens pointed out that although Luckin's event did not meet expectations with the three-piece merchandise set, it promoted the dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber," allowing more people to learn about excellent performances, so it can't be considered an ineffective campaign.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
