Starbucks' Limited-Edition 'Cat Cup' is Blowing Up Taobao
By Ryan Gandolfo
Hot on Taobao is a monthly segment where we feature a product from Taobao our editors think is cool.
If you love cats, then this is the cup for you.
Starbucks released a limited edition ‘Cat Paw Cup’ in the beginning of March, which sparked huge demand from Chinese coffeeholics. The day the cup was launched, videos quickly surfaced of people brawling inside Starbucks shops to get their paws on the hot item.
Watch below to see Starbucks patrons fight over an expensive cup (VPN off):
Now that the dust has settled, the cat cup, or more accurately, knockoffs of this infamous cup, have made their way onto Taobao, where this feline-tastic kitchenware can be purchased with the press of a button (so no need to get into a ‘cat fight’). Knockoff or not, if you sell it they will buy it.
While the cup is 300 milliliters in size, the paw insert reduces the total size to 201 millimeters, clearly foregoing quantity for design.
Image via Weibo
Prices for the double-walled tumbler range anywhere from RMB48 to RMB1,288, with the higher priced cat cups claiming to be authentic. One Taobao user who bought the RMB1,288 cup posted a review, saying “It’s definitely real… All those RMB300-RMB400 [cups] are fake, I bought one for my girlfriend but she wasn’t satisfied, so I bought this one. When she compared this cup with her colleagues there wasn’t a single issue with it.”
Some might argue RMB1,288 is a lot for a cup with a paw insertion, but can you really put a price on love? (Sorry Karen, they’re all sold out…)
The cat cup can be purchased for RMB48-1,288 on Taobao.
[Cover image via Weibo]
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