Starbucks has launched another collaboration. After the Havoc in Heaven and Yunnan rural artists, the coffee giant tried an equally international partner, Disney, with its Alice in Wonderland collab. Between 2 and 22 April, the Taikoo Li branch in Beijing and the Xintiandi branch in Shanghai will be made over into Alice in Wonderland concept shops.
Created in the theme of the Mad Hatters tea party, the co-branded collection contains 3 lattes representing the 3 iconic characters from Lewis Carrol’s novel and the 1951 Disney animated film, Alice, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat, in water-lily, wasabi pistachio and tangerine flavours, respectively. Apart from the exclusive collab paper cups, a Cheshire Cat kite can be bought on top of any drink for an extra 17.9 RMB (2.47 USD) as well as mugs and thermos cups.
Netizens are all mad for the collab. On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, the topic “Starbucks Disney” (#星巴克迪士尼#) quickly garnered 54.38 million views. Of course, many of the engagements came as a requirement to enter prize draws for free drinks and an Alice in Wonderland picnic blanket. Meanwhile, 2 tote bags and another picnic blanket are also available via exclusive 148 RMB (20.45 USD) bundles that include coffee and vouchers.
Starbucks has been experimenting with different collaborations in China. As an American chain, collaborating with Disney provides a natural fit in the country of origin. However, “guochao” collabs with either the Monkey King or Yunnan artists were also eye-catching with the element of unexpectedness. However, the Havoc in Heaven co-branding was criticised for the lack of new and exclusive flavours, slow rollout and insufficient merch and gifts. The Alice in Wonderland collab, fixes all of these problems and provides an outdoorsy tea party theme that many can relate to in the springtime, as the Qingming holiday also approaches.
