China’s coolest coffee brand just announced its latest brand collaboration. This time the Shanghai-founded Manner Coffee partners with British luxury pottery manufacturer Wedgwood.
The range takes Wedgwood Blue as its main theme, covering coffee cups, tote bags and marketing backdrops in the baby blue hue. The colour comes from jasperware, a type of pottery developed by the company’s founder, Josiah Wedgwood, in the 18th century. The venerated material can be made in many different colours, but the most famous is the pale blue that came to be known as Wedgwood Blue.
Manner’s campaign pays homage to another Wedgwood classic – the Renaissance coffee mug. Customers can try out the exclusive Brown Sugar Cookie Latte in the co-branded cup, which combines the elegant oval motif of the Renaissance mug with jasperware blue. The new drink is available nationwide starting from March 4th, while the matching canvas bag is available through Manner’s WeChat Mini-Program.
Manner has teamed up with a host of high-end international brands in the past year, from French luxury powerhouse Louis Vuitton to British perfumery Jo Malone. This latest collaboration with Wedgwood leans into the popularity of English-style afternoon tea in Shanghai, lending an air of genteelness befitting the name Manner.
China’s coffee market is enjoying a period of rapid growth. Last year it finally overtook the US to become the “coffee chain capital of the world”, riding on a 48% growth in coffee chain expansions to reach 49,691 branded outlets.
While Cotti and Luckin are vying to become the dominant budget coffee chain, Manner’s is setting itself apart as a more distinguished coffee experience – less grab-and-go, more sit-and-read-a-book. We will likely see Manner continue to carefully select high-end partners for brand collaborations, and it will have plenty of opportunities as big names in global luxury are flocking to collaborate with local coffee chains.
