On 31 August, French beauty and skincare brand L’Oréal announced a new campaign for its Bright Reveal brightening facial masks. This time, the global personal care giant has teamed up with the Chinese tea chain Molly Tea (茉莉奶白, lit. Jasmine Milk White).
Under the tagline “Double milky, double bright”, the collaboration comes in the form of a “set menu” featuring one tea and one mask. If you order at a branch or on the app, a champaca (白兰) or lychee champaca tea, you will receive a L’Oréal mask in the set. The tea will come in an exclusive cup with a L’Oréal sticker that can be removed to reveal a QR code. Scanning the code will bring you to a draw for a chance to win a surprise prize. The collaboration was first launched in Guangdong, Shanghai, Henan, Fujian, Chongqing and Hubei on 31 August and the rest of the country on 1 September.
Founded in 2020 in Shenzhen, Molly Tea has been steadily expanding and has become one of the up-and-coming tea chains to watch with its 573 branches in China. The brand has gathered popularity online with its colourful designs and agile use of social media topics. Its expansion sped up considerably after opening to franchising in January 2023, which saw them grow from 41 new locations in 2022 to 283 in 2023. The brand also creates its products centred around jasmine teas; a popular tea that hasn’t been overdone by chains.
By leveraging milk instead of jasmine to connect with its facial mask, L’Oréal’s collaboration also helps raise awareness of the “奶白” (milk white) part of Molly Tea that is less talked about. However, the campaign is considerably less ambitious compared to some other brands, especially luxury brands. Fendi’s collab with HeyTea and Louis Vuitton’s team-up with three local coffee chains last year both had exclusive packaging, concept branches and more. This type of small and quick collabs may be a new avenue for brands that don’t want to commit too much resource or aren’t sure of the result, like this unlikely marriage of skincare and milk tea.
