What Caused the Gaiwan Shape Coffee Cup Controversy?
Goodme's regional limited-edition drink "Freshly Stewed Two Pears" drew attention less for the stewed pear recipe than for its gaiwan-shaped takeaway cup. Customers noted that a brown lid with a white straw inserted resembles a toilet plunger, and the observation spread quickly across social platforms, prompting wide discussion about the shape coffee and tea packaging design choices.
The drink itself combines six ingredients, including white fungus, fragrant pears, and red dates, and was sold as a regional limited edition in milk tea shops. Some consumers also reported not noticing the straw opening on the lid, which caused inconvenience. Similar cup shapes used by other brands, such as Nayuki, had not previously produced the same association.
The tea beverage brand Goodme recently launched a regional limited-edition new product, "Freshly Stewed Two Pears," made by stewing six ingredients including white fungus, fragrant pears, and red dates, promoting a health-preserving concept that has attracted many consumers to try it. However, more attention-grabbing than the drink itself is the lidded-bowl-shaped takeaway cup that comes with the new product. A customer posted on social media pointing out that after a white straw is inserted into the brown cup lid, the overall appearance closely resembles a toilet plunger, sparking a large wave of onlookers and ridicule. Some netizens believe the unreasonable color scheme and design are the main cause of the unpleasant association, while others say that brands like Nayuki previously used similar cup shapes without producing this impression. In addition, some consumers reported being unaware of the straw opening design on the cup lid, causing inconvenience in use. Regarding this controversy, this article compiles feedback and discussions from various parties.
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As major tea beverage brands rush into the fruit and vegetable juice track, turning store operation areas into "breakup kitchens," Goodme has taken a different path, venturing into the stewed products sector and selling stewed pear sweet soup in its milk tea shops.
According to the official statement, the new product "Freshly Stewed Two Pears" is a regional limited edition, made by stewing six ingredients including white fungus, fragrant pears, and red dates. As soon as it was launched, it attracted many health-conscious consumers to place orders, eager to try this cup of hearty, healthy stewed drink.
Soon, a large number of discussions about Goodme's stewed pear appeared on social platforms. Among them, a post titled "Will the designer of Goodme's new product please step forward" was particularly eye-catching. The poster said that after buying the stewed pear drink, the more they stared at the new takeaway cup on the table, the more something seemed off, and they couldn't help asking: "Is this intentional? Making people suck on a toilet plunger."
From the post's content, what truly confused this customer was the cup lid of the takeaway cup. In the photo, the cup lid is brown, mimicking the shape of a tea bowl lid. After the white straw is inserted from the top of the lid, the upper part of the drink bears a striking resemblance to what the public generally imagines as a plunger.
This discovery set the onlooking netizens abuzz, with many exclaiming, "You wouldn't think of it until it's pointed out, but once said, it really does look like it." Many joked that the lidded-bowl takeaway cup specially designed by Goodme for the stewed pear drink not only failed to add points to the new product but was an unnecessary extra: "They wanted to create an elegant scene but ended up with a smelly one," "It's a bit hard to look at directly."
However, some also pointed out that Goodme is not the first brand to use a lidded-bowl-shaped takeaway cup. Previously, Nayuki and some regional tea beverage brands launched the same cup shape, yet they did not cause consumers to have this peculiar impression.
Some users believe this may be related to the cup lid's color scheme. They analyzed that Nayuki's previous lidded-bowl takeaway cup used green, which does not trigger strange associations after inserting a straw; whereas Goodme's brown lidded bowl paired with a white straw makes people unable to stop their imaginations from running wild. Others think it is the cup lid design itself that is improper, which makes the straw the "finishing touch of the toilet plunger."
Besides complaining about the takeaway cup's appearance, some consumers said they only learned after reading the post that the top of the lid is the straw opening. "I thought this thing could only be drunk by opening it, and it spilled all over me," "I opened the lid to eat it," "I didn't know this lid could be used directly with a straw."
They believe that when designing drink cups, brands should consider whether the shape could cause ambiguity and whether it can bring customers a comfortable user experience, rather than only highlighting features and ignoring users' other feelings.
Just like Goodme's new product takeaway cup, in the eyes of netizens, an inappropriate cup lid appearance can cause consumers to have bad associations and feel that "it doesn't look appetizing at all."
Of course, from another perspective, this might also count as a kind of eye-catching, unique creative design.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
