Luckin Coffee Inc. finds itself in hot water this Valentine's season after a partnership that customers say feels less like a festive promotion and more like being asked to contribute money to a wedding gift for people they've never met.

The coffee chain, known for its frequent and usually popular IP collaborations, teamed up with the animated series Wang Huanjun and Zhang Binzhi for its Qixi Festival campaign. Unlike typical anime tie-ins featuring beloved fictional characters, this animation is based on the real-life romance between the creator and her boyfriend, with the protagonists sharing their real names. The campaign includes special cup sleeves and carry bags adorned with the couple's likeness.

Reaction has been overwhelmingly negative. "It feels weird, like I'm paying for someone else's love story," one confused customer commented. Another added, "I just want coffee, not to watch strangers date." A poll on Weibo found that 48% of respondents flatly refused to "pay" for the love story of unfamiliar, ordinary couples, citing the IP's low recognition, unappealing art style, and a complete lack of connection to the characters.

Where to begin with the backlash

The criticism didn't stop at the concept. Sharp-eyed netizens soon posted comparison images, alleging that the animation's scenes, compositions, and art style bear striking similarities to several well-known Japanese manga and anime. Accusations point to the female lead's face resembling that of Kimi ni Todoke, while certain storyboard compositions appear nearly identical to Tatsuki Fujimoto's Look Back. The topic "suspected plagiarism" quickly surged to the top of trending lists.

This controversy appears to have directly impacted sales. A check of nearby stores revealed that the promotional products are still widely available, a stark contrast to previous collaborations that sold out almost immediately upon release. Store employees have confirmed the tepid reception, with one staff member revealing, "We haven't sold many cups today." When contacted, customer service stated they had not received any notice to pull the products and that sales would continue as scheduled for the duration of the promotion. Luckin Coffee Inc. has not issued an official statement on the matter.

Why just 10 ASX 200 shares? Wait, wrong article. Nearly half of netizens refuse to pay for "ordinary couples."

Ms. Yan, a heavy Luckin Coffee Inc. user, expressed her confusion. "It feels like buying coffee is just contributing to this couple's wedding gift." She had previously gone out of her way to purchase items during the Disney collaboration, collecting all the themed merchandise. In her view, this new partnership is a step down. "The quality isn't even in the same league," she lamented.

A sample of 219 comments analyzed by a Weibo tool showed that 72% of users questioned the value of this collaboration. Among them, 48% were unwilling to pay for the love story of unknown ordinary people, while 24% believed Luckin Coffee Inc. should have chosen a more universally recognized IP. Only 28% expressed support for the animation, a voice largely drowned out by the criticism.

For context, Wang Huanjun and Zhang Binzhi is a serialized short animation created by the video blogger "Chujiu Can Draw," based on her own daily romantic life with her boyfriend. Within its niche community, it enjoys decent popularity, with most videos garnering hundreds of thousands of likes. However, compared to Luckin Coffee Inc.'s previous partners like Disney, Line Friends, or Black Myth: Wukong, this IP's mainstream recognition is severely lacking.

While the Disney villain series sold out instantly, forcing fans to hunt for items on second-hand platforms, this new line sits untouched on shelves. One employee noted the stark difference in sales heat. Interestingly, some stores have even covered the cup sleeve display with plastic wrap or offered packaging without the collaboration design at all.

The plagiarism allegations have added another layer to the controversy. Beyond the art style similarities, some netizens pointed out that the characters' designs vary wildly between episodes, each resembling a different existing manga. "It's like a 'Franken-manga' stitching together elements from various famous Japanese works," one user commented.

A legal expert consulted on the matter explained that it's difficult to definitively determine plagiarism based solely on "similar storyboards and art style." For original works, creators would need to provide concept drafts and sketches as evidence of their creative process. If it goes to court, professional appraisals would be conducted to assess originality and the degree of similarity.

According to corporate registration data, the copyright for Wang Huanjun and Zhang Binzhi has been filed. Anhui Sanxing Culture Technology Co., Ltd. has applied to register multiple trademarks for "Wang Huanjun and Zhang Binzhi," "Zhang Binzhi and Wang Huanjun," and "Chujiu Can Draw," covering categories like clothing, beverages, and daily chemicals. Most are currently in the preliminary examination stage. The company has also registered multiple copyrights for the animation, primarily as artwork.

The fallout has extended beyond the coffee chain. Data shows the animation's creator has lost 54,000 followers in the past 30 days, dropping to a total of 6.382 million, a tangible sign of the backlash.

Expert warns that high-frequency collaborations risk exhausting consumer novelty

This controversy comes as Luckin Coffee Inc. shows signs of recovery from a period of "increasing revenue without increasing profit." Its Q2 2026 financial report reveals revenue of 15.886 billion yuan, up 28.5% year-on-year, with net profit of 1.486 billion yuan, a 16.1% increase. This marks a rebound from negative profit growth between Q3 of last year and Q1 of this year.

The growth is largely attributed to aggressive store expansion. As of June 2026, Luckin Coffee Inc.'s global store count reached 36,310, a 39% year-on-year increase. In China alone, 2,668 net new stores were added in Q2, bringing the total to 36,087, with 23,625 company-operated and 12,462 franchised stores.

However, this rapid expansion is impacting individual store profitability. Q2 same-store sales for company-operated locations fell 5.3%, marking the third consecutive quarter of decline. Crisis management expert Zhan Junhao suggests this reflects a "cannibalization effect," where rapid store density dilutes foot traffic per location. He notes that new customers attracted by collaborations often fail to become loyal, repeat buyers.

For Luckin Coffee Inc., IP partnerships have been a reliable strategy to attract new users, frequently dominating social media. The "Sauce Latte" with Moutai was a massive hit, introducing baijiu to a younger demographic. However, this isn't the company's first misstep. A previous collaboration with Crocs ended disastrously, with "300,000 people viewing but only 14 pairs sold," as customers accustomed to 9.9 yuan coffee balked at 700 yuan shoes.

Zhan attributes this latest failure to a misunderstanding of the IP and an overestimation of niche appeal. "The core of a successful collaboration is balancing niche enthusiasm with broad emotional resonance," he said. "The benefit of high-frequency collaborations is low-cost, rapid market penetration, but the drawback is that over time, IP vetting can become lax, leading to self-indulgent choices that exhaust consumers' sense of novelty."