Nav: Home > Coffee >

ChaYanYueSe Responds to Queue Controversy: 'Not Marketing Hype!' But Sina Finance Offers Counter-Argument

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Yesterday, the opening of two ChaYanYueSe stores in Nanjing caused such massive queues that subway station entrances had to be closed, drinks sold out within 5 minutes of opening, and numerous scalpers appeared reselling beverages. The situation even required special police deployment to maintain order, sparking heated discussions across the internet. Many netizens have suggested that this was caused by hiring people to queue and arranging proxy purchases for marketing hype...

Yesterday, the opening of two ChaYanYueSe stores in Nanjing caused subway station entrances to close due to queuing, with beverages selling out 5 minutes after opening and numerous scalpers reselling at high prices. The situation even "alarmed" special police to maintain order, sparking widespread online discussion.

Many netizens suggested this was caused by hiring people to queue and arranging proxy purchases for hype... while others expressed that during the pandemic, please don't create trouble for ordinary Nanjing citizens and public resources.

People's Daily Online also commented that milk tea is just a beverage, and while brand promotion and social media inducement inevitably make consumers eager to "check-in," it shouldn't be overly "deified!" A proxy purchase fee of 200 yuan for a cup of milk tea is somewhat excessive.

ChaYanYueSe's Response

Regarding the queuing incident, ChaYanYueSe didn't respond much on the opening day but stated that business hours would be adjusted and planned the queuing route for the next day to avoid another subway entrance congestion.

This morning, ChaYanYueSe posted early to explain yesterday's queuing incident, expressing regret that a small cup of milk tea caused too much unnecessary discussion and brought turmoil to Nanjing. Regarding yesterday's scalping situation, they will implement purchase limits to "resist proxy purchases and reselling."

Regarding hiring people to queue and arranging proxy purchases, ChaYanYueSe stated they don't know when "queuing = marketing hype" became an irreversible proposition, and netizens' speculation is understandable. They don't demand that everyone completely believe in their innocence.

Regarding police intervention to maintain order, ChaYanYueSe also specifically thanked the district government, commerce bureau, public security special police, market supervision and administration, and other government departments at all levels, as well as the shopping mall for extending help and jointly maintaining order. They stated that their assistance also serves as proof of their innocence, after all, seeking attention in public is not their style, nor would they dare to do so.

Media Investigation

Just 2 hours after the official post, Sina Finance immediately published an article titled "Unveiling ChaYanYueSe's Proxy Purchases as a Premeditated 'False Prosperity'." The article stated they saw a part-time job posting in a Nanjing recruitment group on August 19th for a milk tea shop hiring 50 people to queue and fill the venue, located at Baijia Lake in Jiangning; another was a milk tea shop recruiting 20 people to queue on August 18th, requiring at least 3 days of work, located at Xinjiekou.

This information was confirmed by the recruitment personnel, and both milk tea shops hiring people to fill the queues were ChaYanYueSe. The article also mentioned that a video showed that at the two ChaYanYueSe stores in Nanjing, 5 minutes after opening at 9 AM, staff announced that all tea products in the store were sold out and they couldn't complete today's work, and those who wanted to top up their cards could directly scan the QR code to recharge. However, Jiangning Public Security reported around 11 AM that there were still many people queuing at Jingfeng Shopping Mall, suggesting the general public not come to queue today.

Facing the sold-out situation, ChaYanYueSe did not take action to stop queuing, instead encouraging people to recharge their cards without informing subsequent queuing customers that beverages were sold out. Sina Finance also mentioned that ChaYanYueSe, as an internet-famous new tea beverage brand that initially only opened stores in Hunan province, has repeatedly seen customer gathering queues and scalpers reselling at high prices when opening in every new city, thus considering this a premeditated "false prosperity."

Analysis and Reflection

As for whether ChaYanYueSe's queuing controversy stems from genuine popularity or marketing hype, we won't discuss that for now. With the COVID-19 virus not yet well-controlled, there's no need to gamble with your health for a beverage. No matter how delicious the drink, such gathering and queuing isn't worthwhile.

Are all the queues at brand openings really filled with hired people? Not necessarily, but it can't be ruled out. As an internet-famous new tea beverage brand, its "mystery" + merchant marketing + media dissemination inevitably creates an "I must try it" mentality among many netizens.

Additionally, with the brand's establishment over many years, the dissemination of Chinese classical style + local culture has consistently captured the hearts of new-generation consumers. Combined with the herd effect (when one person says something is good, a group will say it's good, and under this conformity pressure, more and more people will believe it's good), it's normal for ChaYanYueSe to have such popularity.

However, when all beverages were sold out and the merchant failed to take timely crowd control measures, even affecting other citizens' right to use public transportation and disrupting public order, ultimately requiring police and special police resources to maintain order, this matter itself was caused by the merchant's unreasonable arrangements.

Is resisting "proxy purchases and reselling behavior" through purchase limits really effective? When Blue Bottle Coffee opened its first store in Shanghai this year, purchase limits were implemented from the first cup sold, but this couldn't stop scalping. On the contrary, it increased the frenzy of people buying "scalped goods."

Recently, there has been a new trend in the pandemic. Everyone should consider not just the cost of time and money, but also the cost of health... Finally, I hope everyone can visit stores rationally and consume rationally.

Image source: Internet, Weibo

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex