Luckin Coffee Launches Nationwide "Time Cafe" Concept and Limited Merchandise in Collaboration With Chinese Animated Series Time Agent

Luckin Coffee (瑞幸咖啡) rolled out a cross-brand collaboration with the original Chinese animated series Time Agent (时光代理人) on September 14, 2026, transforming all of its stores nationwide into an offline "Time Cafe" concept. The activation drew on the animation's signature "Time Photography Studio" setting, rendered across limited-edition cups, cup sleeves, and paper bags.

Two limited-edition beverages were created for the collaboration: a Salty Cheese Soy Milk Tea and a Salty Cheese Soy Milk Mandarin Duck Latte. Customers purchasing cup set meals received either laser ticket sets or character pocket watches — the pocket watch design referencing the signature prop of main character Cheng Xiaoshi.

Merchandise was structured around the three principal characters of the series. PP Extra Large Cups were released in three separate rounds, each dedicated to one character: Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang, and Qiao Ling — a format designed to sustain repeat visits across the campaign's run.

The collaboration is a national offline push, with no distinct digital or e-commerce component noted in the launch details.

The phased PP Extra Large Cup release — one character per round — is a deliberate scarcity mechanic common in Chinese IP-driven food and beverage campaigns, where collectibility is used to generate multiple purchase occasions within a single collaboration window. By anchoring the physical store environment in animation iconography rather than limiting the tie-in to packaging alone, Luckin Coffee positions its stores as a destination experience for fans, not merely a point of purchase.