What Does the WHATEVER COFFEE Opening Say About Classic Coffee?
WHATEVER COFFEE, the brand founded by actor Daniel Wu, has opened its first physical store on Dongda Road in Chengdu. The shop-in-shop shares space with a barbershop and uses a minimalist black, white, and gray interior. The menu centers on classic coffee and simple flavored drinks priced from 20 to 34 yuan, and Daniel Wu is one of several shareholders.
The brand entered the coffee market last June, and the Chengdu site works as a test shop, with a second independent location planned for Chengdu's Eastern Suburb Memory around May or June. The logo, a hand-drawn mask, signals taking off disguises. Celebrity-run cafes like those of JJ Lin and Jay Chou still face the same test: whether products and service hold up.
Recently, the coffee brand WHATEVER COFFEE, founded by actor Daniel Wu, opened its first physical store on Dongda Road in Chengdu, sparking a wave of check-ins among netizens. This shop-in-shop, sharing space with a barbershop, features a minimalist black, white, and gray style, with a menu focused on classic coffee and simple flavored drinks priced at 20 to 34 yuan. The brand logo, a mask hand-drawn by Daniel Wu, symbolizes taking off disguises and returning to authenticity. In fact, the brand entered the coffee market as early as last June, and now the Chengdu store serves as a test shop, with a second independent location already being scouted. Celebrities opening coffee shops is nothing new, from JJ Lin to Jay Chou, but behind the built-in traffic, whether the products and services themselves can withstand market scrutiny remains a topic worth watching.
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Since last month, the coffee brand WHATEVER COFFEE, founded by renowned actor Daniel Wu, officially opened its doors on Dongda Road in Chengdu. The news quickly spread on social media, attracting a large number of fans to visit and check in.
From photos shared by netizens, this coffee shop shares the same space with a barbershop, with an independent entrance on the side, typical of a shop-in-shop business model, and Daniel Wu himself is only one of the shareholders. Other reports say that this store is a "test shop" for WHATEVER COFFEE, and the brand's second independent store has already secured a location, expected to debut in Chengdu's Eastern Suburb Memory in May or June this year.
The interior is dominated by black, white, and gray tones, with simple and neat decor that exudes a casual and relaxed atmosphere. On the counter, you can even see cups with Daniel Wu's handwritten signature. It is understood that the brand logo was personally drawn by Daniel Wu, a line-style mask pattern symbolizing "in a colorful and busy world, you can take off the mask and rediscover yourself," encouraging people to be their truest selves. The brand name "WHATEVER" perfectly echoes this free-spirited "whatever" attitude.
Some observant netizens noticed that WHATEVER's menu is not extensive, mainly offering classic coffee and simple flavored drinks, with very few specialty products, aiming to implement the concept of "simple and casual," with overall pricing in the 20 to 34 yuan range.
In fact, as early as last June, Daniel Wu officially entered the coffee scene through the WHATEVER COFFEE brand. In November of the same year, the brand made a brief appearance as a mobile coffee cart at the Wuxi City Center Coffee Carnival. The current Chengdu store is the brand's first physical space, which naturally sparked widespread attention and discussion among netizens.
When news of Daniel Wu entering the coffee market came out, many netizens initially thought it was another "wild Daniel Wu" on some platform causing trouble, since such IDs are countless, but unexpectedly, it was the real person himself. As a result, the comments section was filled with all kinds of memes: "Stop it, Azu, it's all Luckin out there," "If I go in and spend, can you call me Daniel Wu?", "Azu, stop quickly, it's all 9.9 out there," "I thought it was the East Gate Daniel Wu, but it's actually the real Daniel Wu," "Won't all the Azus from everywhere go check in?"...
As soon as fans heard that Azu had opened a store and that it had cups with his handwritten signature, they immediately set off without a second thought. As more and more people came for "Azu," the coffee cups with Daniel Wu's signature, as the store's "treasure," naturally couldn't escape the fate of being photographed up close.
Although they know in their hearts that they probably won't see him in person, for them, being able to check in at a new store of the coffee brand designed by their idol, drink a cup of coffee printed with "By Daniel Wu," and then hold the cup he touched for a photo, perhaps already "rounds up to holding hands with their dream man."
From JJ Lin to Jay Chou, from Wang Hedi to Bai Jingting, in recent years, celebrities opening coffee shops has become increasingly common. With built-in traffic and promotional effects, business is often very booming in the early days after opening.
But setting aside the celebrity halo and looking solely at the menu, products, service, and prices, such stores are not particularly outstanding in the industry, and many fans also hold reservations about them. Many people go to check in for their idol, only to find that the value for money is far below expectations, and can only describe it as "mediocre."
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
