Why Did Coffee Store Orders Surge During the Cotti Collaboration?

Cotti Coffee's Ne Zha 2 collaboration launched themed drinks and merchandise, drawing crowds to its coffee stores. On the same day, JD Seconds Delivery introduced large subsidies that dropped delivery coffee to a few yuan or just over one yuan. Orders jumped immediately, pickup areas filled with delivery riders, merchandise sold out, and customers waited one to two hours only to leave empty-handed.

The chain did not add extra staff to stores during the collaboration, unlike typical chain-brand IP tie-ins. With the receipt machine producing new orders continuously and only one or two employees behind the counter, production efficiency could not match demand. The result was bad reviews and complaints, showing how a lively marketing push can strain frontline workers and service quality.

Recently, the hype around the Ne Zha 2 collaboration swept through the coffee world, and Cotti Coffee seized the moment to launch themed limited-edition drinks and merchandise, drawing a large number of consumers to its stores. However, just as the collaboration entered its third day, some stores saw their pickup areas surrounded by delivery riders, merchandise sold out, and staff so overwhelmed they could barely breathe. The reason: JD Seconds Delivery launched hefty subsidies the same day, letting users get delivery coffee for just a few yuan or even a little over one yuan, causing orders to skyrocket instantly. Caught between collaboration fans and deal-hunters, Cotti stores were severely short-staffed, and production efficiency could not keep up with demand. Customers waited one to two hours and still went home empty-handed, followed by bad reviews and complaints. Why did this seemingly lively marketing campaign turn into a nightmare for frontline employees? Front Street Coffee takes you through the whole story.

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If you ask which collaboration IP has been the hottest lately, it is none other than Ne Zha 2. Cotti Coffee's partnership with it officially launched recently, and consumers can visit stores to buy themed limited-edition drinks to get limited-edition merchandise, and also redeem various coupons they stockpiled a week in advance.

The brand's collaboration campaign was in full swing, attracting a large number of users to visit stores and spend. However, yesterday, many customers arrived at Cotti and were stunned to find that some stores' pickup areas were completely surrounded by delivery riders in work uniforms.

When they finally squeezed through the crowd and were about to take their drinks, some noticed that the collaboration had only been running for three days, yet all kinds of merchandise in the store were already gone; when they tried to ask staff about the merchandise, they could not get the attention of the workers spinning like tops behind the counter.

This chaotic scene left customers full of doubt. Normally, when a chain brand collaborates with a popular IP, it usually sends extra staff to stores to handle consumers' enthusiasm. But Cotti did not do this. Even though the receipt machine kept spitting out new orders, there were only one or two busy employees behind the counter, making it impossible to produce a large number of drinks quickly enough to meet demand.

In response, some netizens spoke up for Cotti's workers, pointing out that yesterday, besides fans' collaboration orders, each store also had to handle a large number of delivery orders from JD Seconds Delivery. It is understood that JD launched an unprecedented subsidy campaign on its delivery platform yesterday, allowing participating users to get a cup of delivery coffee for just a few yuan, and some lucky ones even bought a drink for only a little over one yuan.

Because of this, order volumes at many Cotti stores surged, catching workers off guard. They could only repeat the drink-making process amid constant urging from riders: "Two people made 200 orders in three hours, didn't even get to eat," "The coffee machine is about to smoke, really," "Ice

But with insufficient staffing, stores' production speed still struggled to keep up with the endless demand, which led to the scene passersby saw of coffee workers surrounded by delivery riders.

In addition, Cotti workers revealed that this delivery discount campaign was planned and led by JD, and Cotti, as the executing party, did not expect the sudden explosion of orders either, causing in-store merchandise, packaging materials and other supplies to be consumed extremely quickly. As a result, many customers who rushed over excitedly to redeem coupons waited one or two hours but ended up with nothing, and in their disappointment left bad reviews and complaints for the stores.

Seeing Cotti staff "fighting alone," many customers spoke up for them: "Just one girl, she simply can't handle it," "I feel like that employee is about to break down," "Downstairs from us it's the same, just one person, even going to the bathroom is a rush," "Two employees are already going crazy, they wish they had three heads and six arms." Some netizens said they really could not stand it and helped employees pack drinks in the store while waiting for their order, working for more than half an hour for free.

In netizens' view, since a chain brand chooses to collaborate with a popular IP and "accept this massive windfall," it should be fully prepared, arrange enough staff, and provide a good consumption experience for fans who come because of its reputation.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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