Introduction:Luckin Coffee’s collaboration event with the popular game Genshin Impact kicked off to great anticipation on its first day, but quickly drew dissatisfaction from players due to randomly distributed character-themed cups and system glitches. This article delves into the full story of the incident, including the features of the two new drinks, the original intent behind the merchandise designs, and the key reasons behind consumer–staff conflicts. It also offers advice on how to avoid pitfalls and what to keep in mind when participating in such campaigns.
On Monday this week, Luckin Coffee teamed up with the hit game Genshin Impact to launch a collaborative event, simultaneously opening a themed pop-up store in Ningbo. The collaboration spotlighted two innovative beverages: Fontaine Red Wine Americano and Fresh Brewed Fontaine Ceylon Light Milk Tea, along with a series of themed merchandise, including eight character-themed cups, four limited-edition paper bags, two cup sleeves, plus stickers, keychains, and character standees. However, on the very first day of the event, controversy erupted as many customers found that the character cups they received did not match those shown on promotional posters, with some even receiving identical cups despite ordering different drinks—sparking heated discussions online.
For the Genshin Impact fan community, this collaboration was highly anticipated. Sales began early in the morning, with fans lining up online to snag items and hoping to collect a full set of merchandise. However, according to multiple customer reports, they had expected each drink to correspond to a specific character—as is common in similar brand–game IP collaborations—but the two new products did not clearly indicate any character associations.
In fact, many players discovered after receiving their orders that the character design on their drink cups didn’t match the characters featured on the promotional posters they saw when ordering. Some even bought both drinks and ended up with exactly the same cup. This discrepancy left many customers deeply disappointed, taking to social media to voice their frustration, believing that stores hadn’t followed the advertised packaging guidelines. However, according to staff responses, the company never mandated a strict one-to-one correspondence between cups and characters, with random distribution being the norm in actual practice—putting frontline employees under significant pressure.
Customers in the Guangzhou area faced even more troublesome issues. On the first day of the event, some users found that the light milk tea product, which should have been available for selection on the mini-program, appeared as “unavailable for purchase,” preventing those who only wanted the tea beverage from placing an order. According to insiders, this was because the official team was adjusting the light milk tea recipe, planning to replace the previously criticized tea powder with tea bags. This freshly brewed tea version was only being trialed at Guangzhou outlets, and due to the system not yet being updated, it temporarily restricted selections on the mini-program.
Notably, Luckin has been actively collaborating with various popular IPs in recent years, earning it the nickname “collab maniac” among netizens, with each campaign attracting huge fan participation. This Genshin Impact collaboration was no exception—even before the official announcement, there were online rumors that staff had to memorize character backgrounds and undergo related assessments. Yet the chaotic start to the event, with its random cup distributions and system bugs, quickly dashed customer expectations. Many took to social platforms to express their displeasure, while frontline employees helplessly pleaded, “Please stop the hate,” highlighting the gap between the planned event vision and its actual execution.
Industry observers pointed out that the main problems with this collaboration event lay in insufficiently detailed rules and a lack of full understanding of fans’ desire to collect character merchandise. Many consumers assumed each drink would be tied to a specific character, but the brand never clearly stated this, leading to a huge gap between expectations and reality. Moreover, store staff lacked specific operational guidance and could only distribute cups randomly, further fueling customer frustration.
In summary, although Luckin’s collaboration with Genshin Impact showed genuine effort in product innovation and merchandise design, the random cup issues and system problems on the first day revealed shortcomings in event planning and execution details. For consumers looking to participate in similar collaborations in the future, it’s advisable to familiarize yourself with the event rules in advance and maintain flexible expectations to avoid disappointment due to unmet assumptions.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
