Introduction:Recently, CHAGEE launched a five-day limited-time "Morning Series" promotion, featuring buy-one-get-one-free deals and extremely low-priced mystery phrase milk teas, attracting a large number of consumers. However, by the third day of the event, many stores across the country ran out of key ingredients, causing several designated drinks to be sold out and removed from the menu—falling short of the eight drinks originally advertised. This discrepancy sparked questions among customers. This article breaks down the event details, reasons behind store adjustments, and consumer feedback to help you stay updated on the latest promotions and avoid common pitfalls.
Earlier this week, CHAGEE kicked off a five-day limited-time promotional campaign running from March 2 to March 6. From 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM each day, customers could visit the “Morning Vibes” Morning Series section on the official mini-program to purchase selected limited-edition drinks with a buy-one-get-one-free offer. Additionally, the brand introduced a mystery phrase guessing game, giving away an extra 100,000 milk teas for just 0.01 RMB each day, drawing in many tea lovers.
The campaign initially received an enthusiastic response. Many customers set timers to log in, using mystery phrases to claim discount vouchers, while others teamed up with friends for group orders to take advantage of the buy-one-get-one deal. Social media platforms quickly filled with user-shared photos of their orders, further fueling the event’s buzz and participation.
However, things took a turn by the third day. Numerous users posted screenshots from the mini-program showing that, during the designated buy-one-get-one time slots, multiple originally listed drinks were marked as “sold out” and unavailable. Some also noticed that although the brand had announced eight drinks would be part of the promotion, the actual number of available items varied greatly by store—some had only five or six left, while others had just one option, such as “Wanli Mulan.”
Moreover, some customers pointed out that certain newly launched products, like “Guiyunnan·Yun Jiao Kamerlo,” though labeled as sold out in the promotion section, were still available for individual purchase through other sections of the mini-program or third-party platforms—raising concerns about inconsistent enforcement of the promotion rules.
In response, some store staff explained that the surge in orders following the event launch had caused ingredient consumption to far exceed expectations. Current stock levels were insufficient to prepare all designated drinks, so they had to adjust supply based on actual inventory and temporarily remove items they couldn’t make. However, this explanation did not fully appease unhappy customers.
Some consumers noted that chain tea brands typically coordinate with stores in advance and ensure ample stock when launching limited-time promotions, especially to handle the spike in demand during the event period, ensuring smooth execution. This time, however, some stores ran out of materials and were unable to offer the promoted discounts, leaving many customers who specifically came for the promotion disappointed.
Industry observers commented that as the organizer, CHAGEE should have anticipated potential high demand and prepared corresponding supply chain and inventory contingencies—rather than letting issues like ingredient shortages and store-level adjustments halfway through the event negatively impact customer experience and participation.
Overall, while the limited-time promotion successfully generated initial buzz, subsequent inventory and execution issues diminished the experience for some customers. This also serves as a reminder to brands about the critical importance of supply chain coordination and clear communication with stores when planning large-scale marketing campaigns.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
