What happened with the Huang coffee ambassador merchandise launch?

ChaPanda named singer Huang Zihongfan as its LOHAS brand ambassador and released fresh fruit drinks with limited merchandise bundles. Orders were canceled by the merchant, mini-program systems crashed, and stores ran out of stock. Customers who queued over an hour left with drinks only. The company apologized that evening and promised to restock and relist the items.

The bundles included smiley bags, frisbees, and stickers. Fans ordered through mini-programs and third-party platforms the moment sales opened. Some received calls from staff negotiating refunds after stock sold out. Employees said stores were caught off guard too and worked under heavy pressure. The episode shows how ambassador drops can strain ordering systems and store operations.

ChaPanda recently officially announced singer Huang Zihongfan as its LOHAS brand ambassador, launching multiple freshly made fruit drinks and limited-edition merchandise bundles, attracting a large number of fans to snap them up. However, after the campaign went live, problems kept emerging: system crashes, orders forcibly canceled, and insufficient merchandise stock, triggering consumer dissatisfaction. Some netizens questioned whether the limited-edition merchandise was withheld internally by employees, but more witnesses and ChaPanda staff came forward to explain, saying that stores were equally caught off guard and that employees were under enormous pressure amid the chaos. The company apologized that same evening and promised to expedite restocking and relist the items.

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Recently, ChaPanda officially announced on multiple social platforms that singer Huang Zihongfan would serve as its LOHAS brand ambassador, simultaneously launching several freshly made fruit drinks. Yesterday, the brand also released limited-edition merchandise and exclusive bundles related to this ambassador, quickly drawing a large number of fans to place orders and snap them up.

It is understood that this collaboration campaign includes limited-edition items such as smiley bags, frisbees, and stickers. Due to limited quantities, many fans waited early on mini-programs, third-party platforms, and other channels, and as soon as the products went on sale, they rushed to buy them as fast as they could.

However, after some customers completed their orders, they found that the orders had been forcibly canceled by the merchant, and when they tried to buy again, the system displayed a crash notice and could not operate normally. Some users also reported that after placing orders, they received calls from store staff saying that the merchandise in the store had sold out and negotiating refunds. Consumers who went to line up at stores in person also said that after waiting in line for more than an hour, they ultimately only got drinks and did not see even a trace of the merchandise.

These unexpected situations left many fans who had been full of expectation both disappointed and angry, and they posted complaints on social platforms about the terrible purchasing experience. Some netizens even shared chat records with store clerks, leading them to suspect that the limited-edition merchandise for this campaign had been "reserved internally" by employees.

Interestingly, in response to these accusations, the first people to speak up in explanation were not ChaPanda employees, but some consumers who had gone to offline stores to check in.

Netizens who witnessed the entire process of store clerks handling orders said that after the campaign began, a large number of orders poured into stores within a short time, and staff could only urgently close ordering channels, take sold-out bundles off the menu, then match store merchandise inventory with orders one by one, and afterward contact users by phone to negotiate refunds.

During this period, some employees apologized and explained on the phone while quickly making drinks amid urging, and some clerks even had to endure fierce criticism from customers. Based on these circumstances, many people believed that ChaPanda's workers were also victims of this chaotic collaboration campaign, and advised everyone not to make things difficult for dutiful staff just because they could not buy the merchandise.

ChaPanda employees who appeared in the comments section also came forward to explain, saying that fan enthusiasm was too high, and after the campaign began, a large number of orders poured in, causing the system to crash for a time. Sold-out designated bundles in stores were still displayed on the menu for people to choose, which then led to the various problems reported by consumers afterward. Although store employees took timely countermeasures and negotiated refunds with users, many customers still went home disappointed.

In addition, many employees added that they understood fans' desire to collect merchandise they liked, but the number of merchandise items allocated by the brand to each store was indeed not large, making it difficult to meet the needs of many consumers. As for netizens' accusations that limited-edition items were "reserved internally," they believed that this was only the personal behavior of a small number of store employees and could not represent the majority of workers who produced items according to the brand's requirements.

Regarding this unexpectedly chaotic collaboration, the company also made an emergency response last night, apologizing for failing to respond to fans' enthusiasm and saying that it was "already urgently communicating about restocking matters," promising that the limited-edition merchandise users failed to buy would be relisted later.

Image source: Internet

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