Introduction:A cup sleeve controversy sparked by satire targeting Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water led to a brief surge in popularity for the long-established instant milk tea brand, Xiang Piao Piao. Its livestream sales skyrocketed 400-fold, and its stock price instantly hit the daily limit. However, as doubts emerged, the incident quickly reversed course—the cup sleeves were taken down and the hype faded. This article dissects the entire sequence of events, analyzes the underlying market transformation pressures, and explores the survival strategies of powdered creamer-based milk tea amid health trends and competition from freshly prepared beverages.

The well-known domestic instant milk tea brand Xiang Piao Piao recently stirred controversy with a set of bilingual (Chinese and Japanese) cup sleeve designs that addressed Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water. The product, which appeared in Japanese-Chinese supermarkets, quickly struck an emotional chord among netizens due to the text on the sleeves, seen as a patriotic statement. Related topics repeatedly trended on social media.

Online rumors suggested the initiative was a spontaneous act by Xiang Piao Piao employees. The brand later publicly expressed support on its official social media, declaring, “Our employees are awesome!”—further resonating with the public. Xiang Piao Piao’s chairman personally went to the airport to welcome the employee back to China, calling them a “warrior.” The brand’s general manager also announced during a livestream that the employee would be rewarded with 100,000 RMB, showing strong backing for the incident.

This move immediately generated astonishing traffic effects. It was reported that the daily sales of the related livestream room jumped from 2,500 RMB to 1 million RMB—a 400-fold increase. The brand’s stock price also hit the daily limit on the morning of May 6th, with market attention and brand image briefly reaching a peak.

However, the good times didn’t last. As netizens’ doubts about the authenticity of the cup sleeves grew, some media investigated local Japanese supermarkets and found no evidence of Xiang Piao Piao products being sold with those sleeves. The brand then backtracked, emphasizing that the cup sleeves were purely the actions of individual employees, not an official initiative. These responses quickly cooled the previously heated public discourse, and the market began to turn.

Faced with shifting public sentiment, Xiang Piao Piao swiftly adjusted its livestream strategy—changing its promotional slogan from “Buy now to get the same hot-search cup sleeve” to “The pride of domestic brands.” The controversial cup sleeves were officially taken off the market on May 8th. On the same day, the brand’s stock price declined, and the brief sales spike returned to normal.

This “anti-Japan cup sleeve” incident may have seemed like a successful marketing ploy on the surface, but it actually exposed the severe transformation challenges facing the instant milk tea industry to which Xiang Piao Piao belongs. With the rapid rise of freshly prepared tea brands such as Heytea and Mixue, consumers are increasingly pursuing healthier drinks. Traditional instant milk tea, which mainly uses powdered creamer, is gradually losing its market appeal—especially among younger demographics, where acceptance has noticeably declined.

In fact, since 2020, Xiang Piao Piao has experienced three consecutive years of declining performance. This has forced the brand to adjust its product strategy, actively expanding into the ready-to-drink market and developing new products that better align with the tastes and health needs of modern consumers. The controversial cup sleeves were used on the brand’s ready-to-drink products, leading to a short-term buying frenzy—but also quickly cooling off due to the controversy.

Industry analysts point out that while this traffic spike brought Xiang Piao Piao short-term exposure and a sales boost, without continuous product innovation and brand value reshaping, relying solely on topical marketing will not reverse its long-term decline. How to break out of the traditional framework of powdered creamer-based milk tea and find a new positioning that combines health and taste will be key to the brand’s future success in transformation.

For consumers, this incident also serves as a reminder: when facing viral internet-famous products and patriotic sentiment-driven marketing, we should maintain rational judgment and not be easily swayed by fleeting public opinion trends. In today’s increasingly competitive tea and ready-to-drink markets, whether brands can sustain stable growth after the hype fades is the real test.

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