What Happened With the Luckin Coffee Collab Cups?

Luckin Coffee's co-branded limited-edition takeaway cups drew complaints after customers ordered based on livestream promotions and found stores had no cups left. Staff said the cups would not be restocked, so buyers received ordinary cold drink cups instead. In Hainan, Jilin, and other regions, plastic restriction policies block use of the injection-molded cups, yet promotional images stayed online, causing wasted trips.

The promotions did not state limited quantities, and images were not updated promptly once stores ran out, frustrating customers and employees alike. Front Street Coffee notes the episode reflects shortcomings in the brand's management of peripheral materials and promotional standards. Consumers questioned why the promotional image remained on the mini-program after stores had run out.

Luckin Coffee's recently launched co-branded limited-edition takeaway cups have sparked widespread discussion on social media. Some consumers have reported that after seeing promotions in livestreams and placing orders, they were told upon arriving at the store that the limited-edition cups were out of stock and would not be restocked, leaving them to accept ordinary cold drink cups instead. In Hainan, Jilin, and other regions, plastic restriction policies prevent the use of these injection-molded cups, yet official channels still display the promotional images, causing customers to make wasted trips. Additionally, the absence of notices indicating limited quantities in the promotions and the failure to update promotional images promptly after stores ran out of stock have left both consumers and store employees frustrated. Front Street Coffee notes that this incident reflects shortcomings in the brand's management of peripheral materials and promotional standards.

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Recently, a customer shared her experience of purchasing a Luckin co-branded limited-edition cup on social media, which quickly triggered a flood of replies and discussions among netizens.

According to the customer, she had seen the brand promoting a new product and its accompanying limited-edition takeaway cup in one of Luckin's livestreams, and made a purchase on impulse. However, when she arrived at the store to pick up her order, the staff handed her drink in an ordinary cold drink cup.

After discovering that the actual product did not match the promotional image, the customer initially assumed it was just a temporary shortage. But upon checking with the staff, she learned that once this limited-edition takeaway cup ran out, it would not be restocked and would never be available again. This response left the customer, who had been eager to collect the cup, deeply disappointed, and she couldn't help but question: "If it's never coming back, why is this promotional image still on the mini-program?"

In response to this situation, some people felt that the store the customer visited had simply run out of the limited-edition cups for this campaign, so they temporarily switched to regular cups — a normal occurrence that is hard to avoid during a promotion.

However, while many consumers can understand stores running out of materials, they still believe that the brand's promotion of this limited-edition cup does have aspects that easily lead to misunderstandings.

Users from Hainan, Jilin, and other regions pointed out that due to local plastic restriction policies, Luckin's limited-edition injection-molded cups cannot be used in stores in those areas. Yet on official sales channels, the limited-edition cups still appear in promotional images, causing some consumers to make wasted trips. They suggested that in regions where the limited-edition packaging cannot be used, the brand should provide clear notices and switch to promotional images that won't cause ambiguity, rather than getting customers' hopes up only to disappoint them.

Beyond this particular issue, some netizens also pointed out that when promoting the co-branded takeaway cups, Luckin did not prominently display reminders such as "limited quantities, first come, first served" on the promotional images. Moreover, after stores ran out of materials, the official brand did not update the promotional images in a timely manner, but instead continued to promote this limited-edition product on livestreams and other platforms. As a result, fans who simply wanted to collect the merchandise had no choice but to accept ordinary packaging materials after making their purchases.

Interestingly, Luckin's frontline employees also have complaints about the company's approach to promoting peripheral materials. In their daily interactions with customers, they know very well that some consumers buy drinks specifically to get a limited-edition cup. But once inventory runs out, the promotional photos cannot be changed, leading some customers to become disgruntled with staff for not getting the product they wanted — even leaving negative reviews or filing complaints against the store.

Employees suggested that Luckin could learn from how other industry peers handle this: when a store's limited-edition materials run out, allow staff to pin a notice on various purchasing platforms stating "Campaign peripheral packaging has been fully distributed," informing consumers in advance. This would reduce instances of products not matching their descriptions, and staff wouldn't have to repeatedly spend time apologizing and explaining to customers.

Additionally, some Luckin users and employees noted that the company frequently promotes new products through livestreams and other formats, but some livestream content does not match the actual product situation, leading viewers to form incorrect perceptions and causing avoidable misunderstandings. They believe Luckin should strengthen management of livestream content to prevent disputes between customers and employees.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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