Introduction:What kind of spark will a national bubble tea brand create when it teams up with a globally popular game? Heytea’s latest collaboration with Genshin Impact has officially launched, introducing limited-edition themed drinks and merchandise that quickly ignited online buzz. However, the event has sparked controversy among players due to the participation requirement of “purchasing a whole box of juice tea” and the distribution mechanism for limited merchandise. This article takes an in-depth look at the highlights and controversies of this cross-industry partnership, and explores the business opportunities behind the marketing strategies of food and beverage brands collaborating with IPs.
Recently, the well-known tea brand Heytea joined forces with the popular game Genshin Impact to launch a collaborative series, including limited-edition themed drinks and merchandise. The news immediately stirred up heated discussions online. As early as September 1st, sharp-eyed netizens spotted hints on social media platforms, claiming that Heytea was about to collaborate with Genshin Impact and posted photos allegedly related to the themed products. Although the official announcement had not yet been made at the time, fans were already eagerly anticipating the collaboration, with some even getting ready to rush to stores.
In fact, Heytea had also dropped subtle hints on its official social media platforms. Some netizens noticed that a reply from Heytea’s official Bilibili account under a certain comment seemed to allude to the upcoming collaboration, leading many to speculate whether this was the brand’s way of giving fans a teaser. Although no specific details had been officially revealed, many Genshin Impact players were already excited and expressed their intention to visit stores to show support.
This is not the first time a game and a beverage brand have collaborated. Previously, the crossover between Genshin Impact and Pizza Hut caused quite a stir, with long queues at many outlets. Some people even mistook it for an extraordinary promotion by Pizza Hut, while others thought “Crazy Monday” had come early. Due to the overwhelming crowd, some outlets had to temporarily close to handle the situation. It seems that Heytea has already felt the pressure from the enthusiasm of fans, and had begun adjusting internal resources well before the official announcement to prepare for the potential influx of customers.
At around 10 a.m. on September 5th, Heytea finally officially announced its collaboration with Genshin Impact via its official Weibo account. According to the official statement, the collaboration includes multiple themed drinks as well as related merchandise such as standees and pins, attracting the attention of fans from both sides. However, once the event rules were revealed, some netizens were left disappointed. It turned out that to redeem themed merchandise, one must “purchase a whole box of juice tea,” with only one redemption code per box. To get the standee and pin set, two boxes need to be purchased. Such participation requirements led many netizens to exclaim that they were “too harsh,” arguing that the reward quantity was too limited and the cost of participation too high.
In response to the complaints, Heytea has not yet made a public statement, but some netizens humorously suggested “work overtime, just keep working overtime!” It seems Heytea might have actually taken the advice to heart. Based on the feedback in the comments under the official Weibo post, many people still have high expectations for the event, and quite a few fans expressed understanding of the challenges brands face when collaborating with highly popular IPs. After all, the case of Genshin Impact and Pizza Hut is still fresh in everyone’s mind—store overcrowding and long queues are risks that brands must prepare for in advance.
The good news is that Heytea and Genshin Impact’s themed merchandise will soon be available through “general sales,” meaning consumers will no longer need to scramble for drinks in order to purchase merchandise directly, without relying on scalpers or proxy purchasing channels. With this move, many netizens have expressed that they would rather wait for the general sale to go live than buy a whole box of drinks just to redeem the merchandise.
In recent years, the “food & beverage + IP” collaboration model has become a new trend in marketing. By teaming up with well-known IPs, brands can not only attract fan attention but also generate buzz and traffic. For example, Luckin Coffee once collaborated with Yeshu Group to launch a co-branded product, combining the originally regionally distinctive “Coconut Cloud Latte” with an exaggerated design style, successfully drawing the attention of a large number of young users. Even though the promotional poster was heavily pixelated, it couldn’t hide the strong visual impact, prompting netizens to imitate it en masse and even spawn a series of internet memes known as “Coconut Cloud New Poses.”
However, although Heytea and Genshin Impact’s collaboration successfully generated buzz, the threshold requirements and limited availability of merchandise left many fans who were looking forward to a “double win” feeling disappointed. What should have been a celebratory event for fans of both sides ended up generating some mixed reactions after the launch. In the future, when planning collaborative events, how brands balance popularity, participation thresholds, and reward mechanisms will be a question worth pondering.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
