How was the "Shi Duanzheng" IP of Yongpu Coffee created? What role does it play for the brand?
The "Shi Duanzheng" IP of Yongpu Coffee is a cute, chibi-style cartoon character designed based on the traditional Chinese stone lion. Launched in 2019, it leverages founder Hou Yongpu's (nickname "Tiepi") background from the China Academy of Art to build the "Yongpu Island" worldview, the print magazine "Islander Monthly," and a cultural & creative merchandise system. Through 600+ cross-brand collaborations, it continuously reinforces exposure. This IP has become Yongpu's core visual asset and brand moat, differentiating it from competitors, transforming the coffee brand into a lifestyle cultural & creative brand with emotional value, and significantly boosting user stickiness, repurchase rates, and brand premium power.
#Key Paths of IP Creation
Cultural Prototype & Design Transformation
- Selected the traditional Chinese stone lion (an auspicious guardian figure) as the prototype, retaining highly recognizable traditional features like the lion head, coin-shaped eyes, and curly mane, then "cutified" them with rounded lines and exaggerated expressions. Named "Shi Duanzheng" (a homophone for "everything will be alright"), implying smooth sailing, lowering the cultural barrier and enhancing approachability.
- The founder, a graduate of the China Academy of Art's School of Design, led the visual system construction, ensuring a unified design language for the IP across packaging, merchandise, and offline spaces.
Worldview & Content Operations
- Established the virtual community "Yongpu Island": Shi Duanzheng serves as the Island Chief, users are "Islanders." Launched the physical magazine "Islander Monthly" (featuring illustrations, life essays, product easter eggs) and hosted offline events like the "Inspiration Art Festival" to build a sense of belonging.
- The community "Shi Duanzheng's Coffee Life Lab" has accumulated ~2 million fans, with a quarterly repurchase rate of 26%–28%.
High-Frequency Cross-Brand Collaborations Amplifying Reach
- 600+ collaborations over nine years, covering film/TV (movie Better Days, variety show U Can U Bibi), internet platforms (NetEase Cloud Music, Xiaohongshu), art IPs (Van Gogh Museum, Hello Kitty, SNOOPY), F&B (DQ, Wuliangye "Coffee-Liquor Blend", Zuie Niang), and retail channels (Hema "Bingbing Cup" selling 1 million cups/week).
- Collaboration formats mainly include limited-edition packaging, co-branded merch, and co-branded drinks, leveraging partner traffic to feed the brand while reinforcing the "Guochao Cultural & Creative" label.
Merchandise Monetization & Brand Extension
- Developed non-coffee merchandise like cups, coasters, plush pillows, scented candles, milk frothers, and print magazines. The sub-brand "CITYBORING" opened physical stores in Shanghai selling coffee, desserts, and merch (avg. ticket 25–168 RMB), exploring a closed-loop offline experience.
#Core Roles for the Brand
| Dimension | Specific Effect | Data/Case Support |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Differentiation | Established a unique visual memory point in the "premium instant" track, forming a sharp contrast with Saturnbird's "digital mini-can/space worldview" | Sales grew ~20x from 2019–2022, reaching ~400 million RMB |
| Emotional Value & Stickiness | Turned drinking coffee into social currency for participating in "Island Life," boosting repurchase and organic sharing | Quarterly repurchase rate 26%–28%; "Island Express" snack gift boxes (limited to 500) sold out instantly |
| Traffic Acquisition & Cost Reduction | Leveraged external traffic via collaborations, reducing CAC from pure e-commerce ad spend | Online accounts for ~80%, but collaborations bring organic topical traffic |
| Category Extension & Premium | IP empowers non-coffee categories (tea concentrate, cultural & creative, sub-brand stores), diversifying revenue | New products like tea concentrate, freeze-dried coffee blocks, capsule coffee liquid all carry the IP image |
| Cultural Moat | Rooted in traditional Chinese culture, hard to replicate, building long-term brand equity | The "Guochao cultural & creative coffee" positioning occupies a unique spot in consumer mindshare |
#Trade-offs & Limitations
- High IP Operating Costs: Requires continuous investment in design, content production, collaboration coordination, merch development, and inventory management; team size and cash flow pressure increase with scale.
- Diminishing Marginal Returns on Collaborations: After 600+ collabs, scarcity declines; stricter partner selection is needed to avoid brand dilution.
- Offline Conversion Not Fully Validated: "CITYBORING" has only two stores; whether the IP can support large-scale offline retail remains to be seen.
- Profit Squeeze Amid Price Wars: Single-serve coffee liquid prices dropped from 7–8 RMB to 3–4 RMB; whether the IP premium can cover declining gross margins needs continuous monitoring.
#Typical Case: Hema "Bingbing Cup" Collaboration
- In 2023, launched the ready-to-drink cup product "Bingbing Cup" with Hema, selling over 1 million cups in the first week.
- Shi Duanzheng's image printed on cup bodies, straw sleeves, and merch stickers; offline cooler displays became mobile ad spaces.
- This case validated the IP's conversion power in the RTD channel and pushed Yongpu to accelerate layout in convenience stores and membership stores.
In summary, "Shi Duanzheng" is not merely a mascot, but a brand asset systematically built by Yongpu through Chinese cultural symbols × design aesthetics × community operations × high-frequency collaborations, supporting its leap from a single coffee liquid product to a lifestyle brand and maintaining user mindshare advantage amid price wars.