Recently, netizens discovered that in a lucky draw event run by the official Chongqing account of Chagee, the same user won four times within a single month, sparking widespread skepticism. Because the account's lucky draw did not use the platform's built-in system tool but was instead manually selected by operations staff, many netizens suspected "black box manipulation" in the event. Although the questioned winner came forward to clarify that they simply participated frequently and had good luck, the explanation only deepened public suspicion. As of press time, Chagee's official side has yet to make any response to the matter. [more…]

On the evening of November 12, Manner Coffee launched a new Caramel Cocoa series and announced a collaboration with high-end fragrance brand Jo Malone, where purchasing designated drinks would earn a complimentary perfume gift bag. The campaign triggered a frenzy of consumer purchasing as soon as it went live, causing the Manner mini-program to crash by the morning of the 13th, and chaos on delivery platforms with no one accepting orders and orders being forcibly canceled. Although the official system was announced as restored around 10 a.m., almost all stores had already run out of gifts. While this co-branded marketing campaign grabbed plenty of attention, it also exposed many shortcomings in Manner's system capacity, store staffing, and event planning. Many consumers described the experience as terrible and called on the brand to reduce hunger marketing. [more…]

Luckin Coffee's co-branded campaign with the popular IP Butterbear launched on September 30, introducing four themed cups and a Little Butter drink series that drew widespread attention from fans. However, after the campaign began, many consumers reported that orders placed through third-party platforms such as Ele.me did not come with the co-branded stickers, which was inconsistent with the official promotion's promise of "free with any 2 cups." Customer service responded that peripherals could only be obtained by ordering through the Luckin App or mini-program, prompting consumer questions about the lack of transparency in channel rules. The incident reflects the problem of inconsistent messaging in brands' multi-platform marketing and serves as a reminder that consumers should carefully confirm giveaway conditions before placing orders. [more…]

Manner Coffee's seventh-anniversary celebration introduced a limited-edition grab-and-go cup giveaway with takeout orders. The intent was to boost online orders, but it unexpectedly triggered order surges at multiple stores nationwide, supply chain breakdowns, and even intermittent closures. Consumers flooded social media, with some sharing receipts to score freebies and others complaining about orders being canceled without explanation, delivery fees soaring, and stores shutting down outright. This marketing campaign, seemingly full of complaints, actually reveals Manner's ambition to push into the takeout market. From its brick-and-mortar beginnings to aggressive online expansion, the capacity bottlenecks brought by rapid store expansion and semi-automatic equipment are now emerging. This article will sort through the sequence of events and retain relevant recommendations for Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Shanghai, known as the "Coffee Capital," always attracts a large crowd of coffee lovers eager to check in at coffee festivals. However, a recent coffee event held in a park left many people with mixed feelings: entry queues exceeded an hour, the venue was packed like the Spring Festival travel rush, mobile signal was so poor that payments couldn't be made, and some specialty coffee prices were seen as steep by visitors. At the same time, some "freebie hunters" who weren't there for the coffee crowded around to collect giveaways, adding to the headaches of vendors and queuing consumers. Longtime enthusiasts lamented that the coffee festival is getting livelier and more commercialized, but that sense of ease and the true essence of coffee seem to be fading. [more…]

On a sweltering 40°C day, most people would rather stay cocooned in air-conditioned rooms, yet an unusual queue formed at Suzhou's Yanlord Cangjie Commercial Plaza—outside the nation's first MUJI coffee pop-up store, customers were lining up under the scorching sun, umbrellas in hand. What drew them was not a new matcha product, but two Suzhou-exclusive brand badges. However, the queuing process was nothing short of a "roasting" ordeal, with indoor areas also unable to escape direct sunlight, weakening the air conditioning and leading to frequent complaints about insufficiently cold drinks and ice cream melting in seconds. This pop-up event will continue until November, and those who have already "braved the battle" are advising: if you're not set on the giveaways, it might be better to wait for cooler weather before going. [more…]

Manner previously announced a giveaway cup event on Xiaohongshu, and the light purple ceramic cup in the accompanying images quickly captured the hearts of many cup enthusiasts. As usual, new merchandise would land on various platforms within a day or two after the official poster was released, and many fans even checked with stores in advance about stock availability, gearing up for the rush. However, this event has yet to appear, with some people setting alarms for several nights in a row only to come up empty-handed, while store employees also said they had not yet received notice. Is it the weather that has delayed the nationwide launch, or has there been a problem with the brand's communication? This article will reconstruct the course of events and explore the communication shortcomings exposed by Manner during the event delay controversy. [more…]

On a cold, windy weekend morning—the kind of day meant for sleeping in until you wake up naturally—hundreds of people were already queuing for hundreds of meters outside Manner stores in several cities across China before dawn. Seven Gingerbread Man–themed stores in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and elsewhere attracted a large crowd of young people to get up early and endure the cold by offering a 9ml Jo Malone perfume and a Christmas badge with the purchase of a new coffee. The queue at the Shanghai Xuhui Binjiang store was the most spectacular: some people got up at 6 a.m. and arrived at 7 a.m., and by the time the store opened at 9 a.m., the line had already reached number 300. What exactly is the magic of this collaboration that makes young people willing to wait two or three hours in the freezing 0°C wind? Let’s take a closer look. [more…]

The coffee consumption boom continues to heat up, and even outdoor sports brands can no longer resist trying their hand at crossing over. French outdoor brand Decathlon recently opened its first coffee corner inside its Shanghai Wujiaochang store, formally stepping onto the coffee track. During the opening period, customers who bought drinks in-store could take part in a giveaway of limited-edition camping cups, drawing a large number of consumers to visit and check in. However, the huge turnout also exposed a lack of operational experience, with frequent problems such as the online mini-program crashing, stores being overwhelmed with orders, and one-hour queues. In addition to regular coffee, the Decathlon coffee corner has also launched sports-themed special drinks that match the brand's tone, with prices following an affordable approach. Whether this kind of crossover play can be sustained is worth watching. [more…]

During the National Day holiday, Tims launched a limited-time promotion at selected stores in Harbin, Heze, and other locations. Customers who purchased designated combo meals or drinks had the chance to receive a maple leaf craft item containing 2mg of pure gold, some of which were engraved with local landmark designs. After a Harbin netizen posted photos of the actual item, the post unexpectedly went viral, and the comments section was flooded with Canadian netizens expressing envy, even joking that their own country's stores only give away "E. coli and norovirus." This seemingly small but delightful giveaway promotion reflects the frequent food safety issues at Tims in Canada in recent years, as well as the feelings of overseas Chinese returning home and marveling at the environment of domestic stores. [more…]

Manner launched a Year of the Dragon promotion offering a vintage mug with the purchase of a two-cup light cheesecake latte set, limited to 120,000 nationwide, which sparked a buying frenzy among fans. However, after the promotion went live, some netizens noticed that the mug bore a strong resemblance to IKEA's Gärdell mug and questioned its claimed market value of 75 yuan. At the same time, many consumers reported that the mugs they received had obvious flaws such as color discrepancies, dents, chips, and uneven spray coating. Despite the controversy, some users still praised the mug's texture and logo design. This article summarizes the promotion rules, netizen feedback, and after-sales advice, and reminds readers to promptly communicate with the store when encountering issues with their consumption experience at a coffee shop. [more…]

On December 16, Tims China opened its first store in Nanning, Guangxi, launching opening promotions such as buy-one-get-one-free, adding 1 yuan for a Farmer's Wrap, and giving away limited-edition cups, attracting a large number of consumers to line up in cold weather. The queue began gathering at 7 a.m., and number tickets were distributed within 20 minutes, sparking netizens' doubts about "paid stand-ins." This article reviews the promotion rules, the on-site queue situation, netizens' comments, and similar marketing phenomena by brands in non-first-tier cities, along with related recommendations from Front Street Coffee. [more…]

520 was a great opportunity for merchants to promote sales through livestreams, yet Good Tea's Douyin livestream room sparked widespread consumer dissatisfaction after orders were automatically refunded by the system following a rush to grab coupons, and the topic quickly trended on Weibo. Although the company issued an apology and promised compensation, many netizens still said they were not buying it. The next day's livestream had to be postponed, and the system recovered slowly. Notably, this was already Good Tea's third brand trust crisis in 2022, after earlier exposures and penalties over food safety and tax evasion. Consumers are still waiting for a satisfactory answer on how the incident will develop further. [more…]

The 8th Lujiazui Coffee Festival recently kicked off, with the five-day event bringing together 270 participating coffee shops, the largest scale in its history. In addition to more than a dozen overseas specialty coffee brands from Australia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and other places, the creative competition among exhibitors over peripheral giveaways is equally eye-catching. From oversized canvas tote bags to red and yellow plastic bags that replicate the style of wholesale markets, brands are using uniquely designed shopping bags to attract attention and generate buzz. As coffee itself becomes increasingly homogenized, these peripheral products, which are both practical and highly shareable, are becoming a "hard currency" more sought after than coffee at the festival. [more…]

A recent international coffee exhibition held in Beijing sparked widespread discussion. The venue was packed with people and buzzing with excitement, yet many coffee enthusiasts who attended found that the professional exchange atmosphere they had expected was diluted by the surging crowds. Free admission attracted a large number of non-professional visitors, and money-saving guides even led to long queues in front of some booths. Some lamented that the exhibition was becoming more and more like a market, while others called on the organizers to set thresholds to ensure a better experience. What exactly happened at this coffee exhibition? Let's take a look at the real situation on the ground. [more…]

Manner recently launched a two-cup set promotion for its roasted nut latte, offering a lilac ceramic cup, which attracted a large number of merchandise enthusiasts to snap it up. However, during the promotion, store orders surged and service speed dropped sharply. Some customers only got the cup but never received their drinks, and regulars switched to other brands as a result. Employees, suffering under intense workloads, complained that promotions were too frequent and staffing was insufficient, while the company's feedback channel was described as virtually useless. This article sorts out the chain reactions triggered by the promotion, presenting the dual plight of employees and customers. [more…]

In the scorching summer, iced drinks are back in the consumer spotlight. To stand out in fierce competition, new tea beverage brands keep reinventing their marketing tactics—from early niche fruits and co-branded limited editions to today's popular milk tea scratch cards, blind box draws, and even giveaways of gold, lottery tickets, and cars. Suguo Fresh Fruit Tea uses its new yellow skin (wampee) product to promote "scratch for real gold," Heytea and Nayuki use puns plus tear-open cards and lottery tickets to grab attention, while Chagee uses high-end lipstick blind boxes to precisely target female customers. Behind these gimmicks is the thrill and sense of participation brought by "eliminating uncertainty." Of course, for those who just want to quietly enjoy a good coffee or milk tea, returning to the product itself may be the lasting way forward, and Front Street Coffee has always advocated focusing on flavor and quality. [more…]

Since its launch in March this year, the "curbside pickup" service jointly introduced by Starbucks and Amap has aimed to provide a convenient coffee-buying experience for drivers and passengers during rush hour and on busy roads. However, a special promotion during the National Day holiday sparked considerable controversy. Due to limited stock, many customers were unable to get the cute pet tote bag offered as a gift in the campaign; at the same time, the ordering system had problems such as inaccurate route matching and closed stores still being able to accept orders, greatly reducing the user experience. In addition, the extra 3 yuan service fee also made some users feel it was unreasonable. Although Starbucks hoped to use this service to expand into new scenarios, the various inconveniences in actual operation led many netizens to question whether it was adequately prepared. This article will sort out the highlights of the campaign and user feedback in detail, and explore room for improvement in the curbside pickup service. [more…]

Canadian coffee brand Tims opened its first store in Harbin over the weekend. The brand had attracted a large number of consumers in advance through buy-one-get-one-free coupons and queue gifts, with the first 200 people to arrive able to receive different tiers of gifts such as coffee monthly cards and city mugs. However, on opening day the scene was chaotic, with some customers waiting several hours before getting their food and drinks, and the efficiency of order fulfillment and store management drew widespread complaints. Although the queue turnout reflected the brand's appeal, the lack of organizational capability also left many fans disappointed, affecting the impression of the brand's first store. [more…]

To celebrate its seventh anniversary, Chagee launched a seven-day giveaway of 700,000 free drinks, and the singing-for-a-free-drink option, being the easiest to participate in, quickly attracted deal hunters. However, after the second round began, customers found that getting the free voucher was not so simple: some stores required two people to sing together and clink cups, some staff outright denied the promotion existed, and even more surprisingly, many participants were filmed or recorded throughout by staff, a requirement not disclosed in advance in the official tweets. Customer service responded that the event was held precisely for filming, and internal notices also required photos of every singing customer to be kept on file. This practice sparked concerns about how customers' personal images would be used, and although several staff members said the content was only uploaded to internal work groups for supervisors to review, the privacy controversy continues to grow. [more…]