Introduction:Although Luckin Coffee’s collaboration with the movie *Creation of the Gods II: The War of Ji Cang* has not officially launched, it has sparked widespread online discussion due to a typo on the cup sleeve where “Xi Qi” (西岐) was mistakenly printed as “Xi Qi” (西崎). This seemingly simple misspelling incident not only exposes potential risks in brand collaboration processes but also draws consumer attention to the importance of quality control for collaboration merchandise. This article will delve into the full story of the incident, explore how Luckin ultimately handled the situation, and further analyze the common design and execution challenges faced by collaborative merchandise.
Luckin Coffee’s collaboration project with the mythology-themed movie *Creation of the Gods II: The War of Ji Cang*, originally scheduled for release on January 27, included a new pistachio latte product as well as a series of themed merchandise such as cup sleeves and paper bags. This collaboration had not yet officially launched, but a key typo quickly caused a stir on social media platforms.
According to reports, in the pre-released design of the collaboration cup sleeves, characters from the movie and two important locations were featured — one being “Yin Shang” (殷商), and the other was supposed to be labeled “Xi Qi” (西岐), the hometown of the protagonist Ji Fa and a pivotal setting in the storyline. However, a careful netizen noticed that the character “Qi” (岐) in “Xi Qi” had been mistakenly printed as “Qi” (崎), turning it into “Xi Qi” (西崎), which is completely different in meaning.
This mistake quickly triggered discussions online, with users leaving comments on social platforms pointing out the obvious typographical error and urging Luckin to address it promptly. Some netizens directly tagged Luckin’s official account to voice their concerns and dissatisfaction, with some even exclaiming, “The character is wrong — hurry up and recall everything to reprint it tonight!” showing consumers’ attention to brand details.
In response to the feedback, observers noted that although there was still about a week until the official launch, the approaching Lunar New Year meant that most factories and logistics companies were about to go on holiday. Redesigning, reprinting, and redistributing the materials to stores nationwide would, in reality, be too late. As a result, even if Luckin wanted to recall and reprint, they faced practical operational challenges.
Sure enough, not long after, a Luckin employee shared photos of the latest merchandise on social platforms, showing that the typo on the cup sleeve — “Xi Qi” (西崎) — had not been corrected, confirming that this batch of materials would go on sale as planned. This means Luckin ultimately chose to “let the mistake stand,” allowing the cup sleeves with the misspelled characters to enter the market as is, rather than remaking or recalling them entirely.
This incident has prompted reflection among both industry professionals and consumers. In brand cross-industry collaborations, every step — from design and review to production and launch — needs to be strictly controlled, especially when dealing with topics related to history and culture, where details such as place names and character names should be carefully verified. Industry insiders pointed out that although typos may seem minor, they can affect consumers’ perception of a brand’s professionalism and may even diminish the topicality and cultural value of the collaboration.
In addition, this event has also drawn public attention to the fact that even in today’s highly digitalized world, quality control for physical merchandise still presents certain challenges. From initial design drafts, material reviews, prototype proofreading, to final printing and distribution, each step requires clear division of responsibilities and multiple rounds of confirmation. For brands, maintaining high-quality output under tight schedules and cost considerations will be an important challenge for future collaboration activities.
In summary, although Luckin’s collaboration with *Creation of the Gods II* briefly became controversial due to the cup sleeve typo, it also revealed the brand’s choice in responding to unexpected situations. For consumers, in addition to paying attention to the flavor and design of collaboration products, they are gradually learning to evaluate a brand’s level of care through the finer details. In the future, when participating in various collaboration events, it might be worth paying more attention to these “small details,” where you might discover many interesting stories behind the scenes.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
