Chinese Tea Company Pulls Co-Branded Drinkware for Illegally Promoting Religion Through Products

The Chinese tea drink chain Hey Tea had to scrap a line of co-branded drinkware it did with the Jingdezhen China Ceramics Museum after just a few days, as it's illegal in China to use commercial products to promote religion, namely Buddhism in this instance.

The products were launched on Nov. 28, and include images of sculptures in the museum, thus technically being a commercial endeavor in the name of Buddhism.

After less than a week, a leading Chinese tea drink chain Heytea has withdrawn the tea latte drinks featuring Buddhist and Arhat elements on its cups, after allegations of engaging commercial promotion in name of Buddhism, violating law regarding religious content in China. pic.twitter.com/Jim25np0PR

— China in Pictures (@tongbingxue) December 5, 2023

According to the Global Times, the drinkware specifically violated "Religious Affairs Regulations," "Several Opinions on Further Addressing the Commercialization of Buddhism and Taoism," and "Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services."

Hey Tea repeatedly got a visit from the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau of Shenzhen only a few days after the products launched, and removed the products from sale.

While this is an extreme case that distributors don't need to worry about as much in America, it serves as an interesting tale of how a company can find itself in trouble for something seemingly innocuous. It's also an interesting look at how co-branding efforts abroad need to be careful of more laws and regulations while they try to set themselves apart from their competition.