Jasmine Milk Tea x Love and Deepspace Collaboration Overwhelms System with Orders

China’s tea beverage brand “Jasmine Milk Tea (茉莉奶白)” recently launched a collaboration with the smartphone-based 3D romance game “Love and Deepspace.” However, the response far exceeded expectations, causing an overwhelming surge of orders. The ordering mini-program experienced severe freezing immediately after the campaign’s launch, and some stores reported wait times of up to five hours for customers to receive their orders. The brand later issued an apology and explanation, but the incident underscored the challenges in bridging the gap between digital marketing and physical store operations.

Collaboration Launch and Unexpected Response

In June 2026, Jasmine Milk Tea initiated a collaboration with the hyper-realistic 3D immersive interactive romance game “Love and Deepspace.” Customers who purchased drinks from a special collaboration menu received packaging and novelty goods themed around one of five male characters from the game.

Initially, industry insiders viewed the tie-up as a standard brand collaboration. However, the situation changed dramatically upon its launch. Reports flooded in from users across the country that the Jasmine Milk Tea ordering mini-program had stopped functioning. Despite repeated attempts to reload the page, it continued to freeze, displaying a “Please wait” message that left users stranded. Even those who managed to access the system found that the collaboration sets were already sold out on the ordering page.

System Failures and Long Wait Times

Even for customers who successfully placed orders, the challenges were far from over. In one store, a user reported on social media that the system displayed 2,761 drinks ahead of theirs in the queue, leading to a five-hour wait in Zhejiang Province. Store staff were overwhelmed and unable to manage the surge of orders, with photos of receipts piling up in stores circulating online. One employee commented, “We never expected this level of demand. Even working non-stop, we couldn’t keep up.”

In regular operations, staff typically handle drink preparation, service, and packaging. However, this collaboration required verifying set details, distributing novelty items, and managing character-specific goods. Mistakes like mismatched cup sleeves, missing bags, or insufficient novelty items prompted immediate complaints from consumers. There were even instances of delivery drivers requesting only the novelty items, not the drinks, adding to the chaos at the stores.

Novelty Issues and Operational Chaos

There were also cases where orders were canceled unilaterally, leaving some customers without their drinks or novelty items, further fueling dissatisfaction online. Problems like order difficulties, system freezes, delays in service, and errors in novelty item distribution created a chain reaction of complaints, with many consumers sharing their critical experiences on social media.

Delivery personnel found themselves caught in the middle, often bearing the brunt of frustrated customers’ anger over long wait times, despite these delays being caused by the stores’ limited capacity to handle the demand. Later that same day, Jasmine Milk Tea issued an apology on Weibo, explaining the mini-program’s congestion and the stores’ operational overload. The incident highlighted the brand’s significant underestimation of the enthusiasm among “Love and Deepspace” players. While the collaboration was intended to be a pleasant surprise, it morphed into a nationwide phenomenon that overwhelmed the company’s operational readiness.

The History of Successes and Challenges in

Game IP Collaborations

HEYTEA (喜茶) was the pioneer in collaborations between tea beverage brands and game intellectual properties (IPs). Its partnerships with the popular game “Genshin Impact” in 2022 and 2023 sold over 3 million drinks in just three days. The associated novelty items were traded on resale markets at five times their original price, demonstrating the immense power of game IPs in the industry.

Since then, game IP collaborations have become the fastest route for tea beverage brands to connect with younger consumers. Otome and two-dimensional (anime-style) games have particularly gained attention. The players of these games tend to be young, passionate, and deeply emotionally invested in the characters, with strong social media influence that drives significant sales and customer acquisition for brands. However, the more customers such campaigns attract, the smaller the margin for error becomes.

The Unique Demands of Otome Game Players

For otome game players, the real attraction lies not in the drink itself but in the emotional value, sense of connection, and the love for the characters. Any misstep by the brand can quickly transform this affection into disappointment or anger. Many brands have learned this the hard way.

In December 2022, a collaboration between Shanghai Auntie (上海阿姨) and the game “Light and Night (光与夜之恋)” was abruptly terminated just three hours after it started. The game’s official team discovered that some employees had leaked and privately sold the novelty items in advance. As a result, the partnership ended in failure, leaving a blemish on the brand’s reputation.

Similarly, a collaboration earlier this year between No.3 Coconut (椰不二) and “Love Producer (恋与制作人)” faced multiple issues. The brand’s decision to invite male food bloggers for promotions upset many female players. High-priced set menus, confusion over novelty item distribution at themed stores, and defective items further fueled customer dissatisfaction. Otome game players are both the most powerful consumers and the most demanding. If a brand can genuinely understand their needs, it can achieve phenomenal sales. However, if perceived as failing to understand its users, the campaign can backfire.

The Importance of Supply Chains and

Operational Systems

The Jasmine Milk Tea case demonstrates that game IP collaborations are no longer just marketing strategies but comprehensive tests of a brand’s supply chain and operational systems. As more brands enter this space, the success of such campaigns will depend on factors like production capacity, inventory management systems, staff training, and backup plans for handling unexpected issues.

In this case, Jasmine Milk Tea succeeded in generating buzz, with players sharing photos, unboxings, and trading novelty items on social media. The trend of “One Jasmine Milk Tea for Everyone” significantly boosted brand recognition. However, the “sweet problem” of overwhelming enthusiasm from players was a direct result of underestimating their fervor. Addressing this enthusiasm effectively is a challenge that all brands entering this space must face.

Editorial Opinion

In the short term, this incident will likely reshape risk perceptions in the game IP collaboration market. Particularly for collaborations with otome games, precise demand forecasting and alignment with supply capabilities are essential. On the technical front, adopting solutions like cloud auto-scaling, queuing systems, and real-time synchronization between order processing and in-store inventories will be crucial. Ensuring traceability in novelty item management will also remain a critical issue.

From a long-term perspective, this type of collaboration has the potential to accelerate the digital transformation of the tea beverage industry. The importance of leveraging AI for demand forecasting and dynamically adjusting production capacity and order volumes across stores will only grow. Moreover, a brand’s ability to maintain and strengthen its relationship with fan communities without compromising emotional value will become a key competitive advantage.

This case serves as a reminder of the risks posed by the disconnect between digital marketing and physical store operations. How well can brands measure the enthusiasm of their fans? And when unforeseen demand arises, how quickly can they scale their supply chain to meet it?

References

• Huxiu: 5-Hour Lines, Nationwide Store Overload: Otome Game Fans Propel Jasmine Milk Tea into a Frenzy — Published June 21, 2026