Introduction:The limited-edition bubble Americano featuring bergamot and pomelo, launched as a collaboration between Starbucks and Mayday, attracted fans with its classic lyrics designs on collectible cups—but issues such as label cover-ups and duplicate designs upon purchase diminished the collecting experience. This article breaks down the campaign details, analyzes the causes of these problems, and offers practical tips to help you avoid pitfalls and complete your collection of beloved lyric-themed cups.
In their second collaboration, Starbucks and the rock band Mayday centered the promotion around the bergamot and pomelo bubble Americano, releasing themed limited-edition carrier cups and paper bags adorned with iconic lyrics from Mayday’s most popular songs. The release quickly became a hot topic among fans.
Leaked real-life photos from social media show that these limited carrier cups feature vibrant colors displaying the lyrics, paired with a clean and sleek visual design. When filled with brightly colored cold beverages in transparent plastic cups, they not only offer a satisfying grip but also double as ready-made photo props—perfect for capturing eye-catching social media shots.
For this very reason, many loyal fans flocked to stores as soon as sales began. Some even bought multiple cold drinks at once in an effort to collect all nine officially released lyric cup designs, planning to wash and preserve them after drinking to build a personal collection series.
However, some customers were left deeply disappointed—the highly anticipated lyrics designs were covered by plain white labels. These labels were so strongly adhesive that, even after laborious removal, they often left behind sticky residue, ruining the overall aesthetics and significantly diminishing the collectible value.
Many fans voiced their frustration on social platforms: “Are you serious putting the label over the lyrics?” “Releasing a collab cup but covering up the main attraction is really disappointing!” “This kind of lyric cup is pointless,” criticizing what they saw as a clear oversight by staff in placing the labels over the lyrics.
Another common issue was that some customers who bought multiple cups hoping to collect different designs ended up with identical limited cups, leading to suspicions like “Is there only one type of cup available in-store?”
In response to these concerns, Starbucks staff explained that according to store operating procedures, beverage labels should be affixed to the designated notes area on the carrier cup. If lyrics designs were covered, it might have been due to staff negligence. They also advised that if customers wish to keep the full lyrics design intact, they can communicate with staff in advance, and the store will make reasonable adjustments where possible.
As for receiving multiple cups of the same design, staff clarified that while the brand distributes different styles of carrier cups based on store sales performance, each batch of cups only contains one single design. Due to food safety regulations, stores must use up an entire batch of one design before opening the next batch with a different design. Therefore, if a customer buys multiple cups at once, they are likely to receive duplicates rather than the expected random assortment.
Drawing from the experience of this campaign, if you aim to complete your collection of the Mayday collaboration lyric cups, it is recommended to make multiple small purchases over time to reduce the chance of getting duplicates. Additionally, when picking up your drink, you can proactively confirm with the staff where the label will be placed to avoid covering the lyrics design and ensure the quality of your collectibles.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
