Magic Cups Only in Singapore
Recently, McDonald’s launched a regional limited cup in Singapore, not only let the local McDonald’s App was grabbed to the “collapse”, and even let the people from China, the United States, Britain, Italy, France, Poland and other countries have expressed their desire.
What cup is so magical?
Resource: Instagram@mcdsg
Turns out, it’s a cup that changes color when it gets cold. This cup will not only change color, and the process of changing color is also both beautiful and fun, so that onlookers have said “too beautiful!”, “very decompression! “It’s a great stress reliever!”
Resource: Xiaohonshu
As shown in the video above, when ice is thrown into the cup, an originally silver aluminum cup suddenly begins to turn red. What’s most amazing is how the cup reacts to cold temperatures. Almost as soon as the ice is poured in, the aluminum cup undergoes a corresponding color change, which gives the color change a slowly rendered aesthetic. Those who own this cup have used their imagination to play with the cup in a variety of ways.
This time, McDonald’s also introduced 5 colors of cups. The same play meets different color cups, and again, it creates a different visual effect.
Resource: McDonald’s Singapore Official
In addition, McDonald’s is also playing the “weekly limited”, that is, the five color schemes every week, a new one. Now in its fourth week, this marketing strategy has whetted everyone’s appetite. A Singaporean netizen said, “I waited 3 hours for takeout just for a blue cup”.
It made McDonald’s attention skyrocket over 100 times!
On January 10, a post about a color-changing cup on McDonald’s Singapore’s official Instagram account received 153,000 likes. As a regional account with 230,000 followers, a single post receives around 500 to 1,000 likes on a daily basis, while the color-changing cup received at least 100 times more attention than McDonald’s daily likes.
Resource: Instagram @mcdsg
Resource: Youtube
Although this cup is only limited to the region, but after its launch in Singapore, attracted netizens from all over the world, but also a large number of domestic netizens beg friends and relatives or “Internet family” to help their own behalf of the purchase.
Last November, when the cup was launched in the Philippines, it had a similar “boom”. A TikTok blogger named manellapeanut casually posted a short video of pouring Coke into a color-changing cup, which received 14 million views, and the comments section of the video was “crowded” with netizens from all over the world. People used different languages, but expressed the same meaning, “Where is this? Do we have it here? Will we have it here in the future?”
How to make a magic cup?
So, why can this cup change color? Its “mystery” may be hidden in the cup body using special materials.
This color-changing cup from McDonald’s may have used a special material called temperature-changing ink on the walls of the cup. Temperature-change ink is a material that is very sensitive to temperature. When the temperature of this material changes, its molecular structure will change, which makes the material’s absorption and reflection of light properties change, in the human eye will appear different colors.
A regionally limited color-changing cup puts McDonald’s in the spotlight. So what kind of unexpected effect will “color change” have if it is used on prepackaged food and beverages?
Color Change for a More Visually Appealing Drinkware
McDonald’s color changing cups are popular not only because of their vibrant colors, but also because of the visual impact of the dynamic process of colors gradually appearing. Or, to put it simply, the ability to bring more surprises.
In order to enhance the visual impact of the product packaging, there are also a number of pre-packaged food and beverage brands using color-changing packaging.
For example, Coca-Cola had launched a limited edition summer cola in Turkey in 2018.
Since it’s “summer only”, it has to feel cool. How to make people feel cool? Add some ice cubes! So Coca-Cola painted a few ice cubes on the can. However, these ice cubes don’t seem to be “icy” enough. In order to visually perceive the coolness of the ice cubes, they must be filled with a more refreshing blue color! So Coca-Cola designed this color-changing package when cold. When the Coke is put into the freezer for a little while, the ice on the can is filled with blue color. Not only is it cool to drink, but it’s also cool to look at, and this can of iced Coke is a double cooler when you drink it.
Resource: FoodBev Media
Coors Light, an American light beer brand, is not unlike Coca-Cola.
Coors Light’s parent company, Coors Brewing Company, was founded in Colorado, USA. And while Colorado’s symbol is the ice-covered Rocky Mountains, Coors Light’s beers are brewed with crisp, clean spring water from the Rocky Mountains, which is the strength of Coors Light’s beers. To emphasize this advantage, Coors Light positioned the brand as a “cold beer” in 2007. As you can see in the picture below, Coors Light’s packaging didn’t look cold enough at the time. So in 2009, Coors Light updated the “Rocky Mountains” on its packaging, an update that allowed Coors Light to post a 3% increase in sales while the beer industry as a whole was flat that year. The secret of Coors Light is to make the Rockies change color. At room temperature, the colors of the Rockies look pale and the contours of the mountains are slightly blurred. However, when the temperature drops below 4.5 degrees Celsius, the “Rocky Mountains” are gradually filled with blue, and the cold silhouettes and shadows of the mountains can be seen, as if the cold winds from the Rocky Mountains and the cold springs flowing in the mountains are being felt. When one sees such a vivid image, one naturally associates it with the cold taste of the beer in the can!
Resource: CTI Inks
Around 2018, Starbucks in North America launched its earliest version of the Starbucks color-changing cup, with a size of 24oz, which became extremely popular. The shape of this cup is simple and unique, and its huge capacity perfectly matches Starbucks’ venti size.The Starbucks cold change cup is part of Starbucks’ line of reusable drinkware, designed to encourage sustainability by reducing the use of single-use plastic cups.
With the concept of environmental protection, a simple design, and an interesting color-changing feature, this cup sold out as soon as it was launched in North America.Because the cup shape is simple, there is more white space, people buy this cup to DIY different patterns.
Resource: Starbucks USA offical
Starbucks is capitalizing on its success and randomly launching different colored changing styles, as well as introducing a series of heat-changing products to meet the needs of different scenarios and customer groups.
Following that, other markets of Starbucks began to introduce similar products of color-changing cups. Among them, color-changing cups have become popular products in markets such as Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
Colorful ideas fulfill our life
The emergence of color-changing cups from Starbucks, McDonald’s highlights a blend of innovation, marketing savvy, and a commitment to sustainability. These brands have turned everyday drinkware into a source of joy and conversation, proving that a little color can indeed change the way we view our beverages. As more consumers embrace these magical cups, it’s clear that this trend is here to stay, painting our drink experiences with a vibrant palette of possibilities.
