Introduction:Heytea’s first-ever collaboration with Japan’s popular anime series 《Chiikawa》 was officially launched today, quickly generating an overwhelming response from consumers. Although the brand had prepared sufficient merchandise in advance to avoid the issue of items selling out instantly, the sudden influx of massive orders still overwhelmed the stores. Some locations accumulated hundreds of orders within just ten minutes, while themed stores in Shanghai and Guangzhou saw order volumes exceeding seven or eight hundred, leading to the temporary shutdown of their online ordering systems. This article takes you behind the scenes to explore the intense popularity of this collaboration, consumer feedback, and the operational challenges the brand faced under high traffic.

Heytea’s collaboration with Japan’s ultra-popular anime 《Chiikawa (Chiikawa)》 officially went live today, immediately sparking a buying frenzy. Even though the brand had stocked up on ample merchandise in advance to prevent “instant sell-outs,” the volume of orders far exceeded expectations, catching stores off guard.

According to on-site observations, some Heytea outlets had accumulated over a hundred pending drink orders just ten minutes after opening, with receipts continuously printing out from the receipt machines. Staff quickly switched into high-efficiency mode, but still struggled to keep up with the surge in orders. Themed stores in Shanghai and Guangzhou received as many as seven or eight hundred orders shortly after opening, resulting in a large backlog of unfinished preparation tasks.

Due to the overly concentrated volume of orders, some stores were forced to urgently shut down their online ordering channels in an attempt to alleviate pressure on-site. However, even so, the stores remained crowded with customers waiting to pick up their orders, with queues stretching from inside the stores all the way outside, snaking several meters long.

This collaboration limited purchases to specific combo sets via Heytea’s mini-program, and only allowed for in-store pickup—no delivery service was provided. As a result, many customers who successfully placed orders rushed to the stores immediately upon receiving notifications to wait for their drinks, creating a lively atmosphere, with some even joking that it felt “like being in a vegetable market.”

According to feedback from multiple customers waiting in line, although staff tried their best to adjust processes and speed up service, the sheer volume of orders meant that many people still had to wait as long as one or two hours, with some even waiting up to three hours to receive their drinks and merchandise. The process of waiting in line was not only time-consuming but also tested customers’ patience.

In addition, many customers reported that the mini-program would prematurely display a “drink ready” message that didn’t match the actual situation. Some users arrived at the store based on the system’s prompts, only to find their drinks weren’t ready, and had to wait again for staff to make them on the spot, further adding to the confusion and inconvenience on-site.

Compared to previous collaborations with other well-known IPs such as Sanrio, Heytea appeared to have better prepared its merchandise inventory this time, successfully avoiding the embarrassment of items selling out instantly upon launch and meeting the majority of consumers’ desire to collect merchandise. However, when faced with the sudden surge in orders, the stores clearly failed to adjust their operational strategies in time, resulting in long pickup times, chaotic on-site order, and an overall diminished experience.

While this collaboration successfully ignited market enthusiasm, it also highlighted that the brand still has room for improvement in its ability to handle high-traffic surges in a short period. For consumers, besides enjoying the uniqueness of the collaboration products, finding ways to save time and effort during the busy pickup process has also become a key challenge of this event.

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