China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

Princess Syndrome Candidates? Shanghai Kid’s Spa “Twinkle” Turns Children into Little Stars

Innocent child’s play or raising little princesses?

Published

7 years ago

August 9, 2018

Manya Koetse

Photo via Xiaohongshu.

A recently opened kid’s spa in Shanghai is one among many businesses catering to Chinese millennials and their little kids. Although many love these new luxury services for China’s youngest, there are also those who say these daughters will end up suffering from ‘Princess Syndrome’ (公主病).”

Recently, a Shanghai kid’s spa has been at the center of an online discussion on ‘Little Red Book’ (Xiaohongshu/小红书), a popular interactive e-commerce platform focused on fashion and beauty.

The establishment named “Twinkle” is a luxurious “parent-child restaurant” (亲子餐厅) that also includes a playground and the much-discussed children’s spa, that seems to be mainly focused on catering to little girls.

A post dedicated to the spa received nearly 4000 likes and 1500 comments on Xiaohongshu within a few days time this week.

Marketing and e-commerce specialist Miro Li discussed the topic on LinkedIn, writing:

“This well decorated “kids spa,” with everything in pink, is located in a shopping mall in Pudong. It’s very popular among millennial parents and [it’s] hard to book a seat. Service fee is RMB 218 (approximately USD 32) for each kid, including a pink bathrobe, a “facial” with cucumber mask, a “foot spa”, and a glass of grape juice within [a maximum time of] three hours. The spa also has a restaurant and a small indoor playground.”

Miro Li further explains:

“This post has got people in the comments [section] split into two groups. One side strongly disagrees with parents who take kids to the spa, saying kids are too spoiled. The other side thinks this is totally normal as long as parents can afford it.”

She adds:

“RMB 218 for an afternoon with kids is not too expensive in a first-tier city, but it’s also not cheap. Apart from the debate, we can see that many Chinese millennial parents are pursuing the best quality of life for themselves and their kids. They don’t care too much about the price like their parents do and they are more willing to spend on lifestyle.”

The newly opened Twinkle “premium kid’s cafe” and spa, located in Shanghai Pudong’s Century Link Tower, is the second shop that has been opened after the success of the first Xintian-based branch.

Chinese parents increasingly spend more money on luxury goods for their children, such as branded wardrobes. Already in 2015, about 60 percent of surveyed Chinese millennial parents spent more than 3,000 yuan ($471) per month on luxury goods for their children, Jing Daily reports.

However, some people think that Chinese parents spoil their (only) children too much, leading to “Princess sickness” (公主病) (also ‘Little Emperor Syndrome’ 小皇帝病 for boys), a term used in China to describe young women who with a self-centered and high maintenance personality.

The Xiaohongshu comment section has generated some heated debates about the Twinkle kid’s spa.

“It’s not right!”, one person says: “These girls are too young to experience this. (..) It’s better to let them study when they’re young, and let them read some books.” Many other commenters agree, writing: “Children shouldn’t do the same stuff as grown-ups do.”

“You don’t get Princess Syndrome because of a spa treatment.”

“It’s not because of the price, but I would never let my daughter do this,” another female commenter writes: “I hope my daughter can grow up naturally (..) I want her to learn to do good for society and others.”

Some even call the spa a “violation of socialist core values.”

But there are also many people arguing that commenters criticizing the spa are taking things too seriously.

“What a bunch of sour comments here,” one person says: “All that talk of Princess Syndrome – you don’t get Princess Syndrome because of a 218 yuan spa treatment, it is something that comes from how parents treat their children. By getting a spa treatment, these children learn the good habit of taking good care of their skin from an early age (..). At the same time, it also teaches them about the kind of life they’d want and that they have to do their best to reach it.”

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions,” another Xiaohongshu user says: “But I’d say it’s much better to bring your kid out to play like this than to let them play on your phone.”

However, it seems that the more critical stance is dominating this debate. The top comment of the section, receiving more than 1000 likes, says: “I just think that it’s not right to inject these kind of ideas about what enjoyment is into the minds of kids this small.”

“Mums just want to give their kids the very best,” one reply reads: “If they can afford it, it’s absolutely normal for them to do so.”

By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo

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Manya Koetse

Manya is the founder and editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, offering independent analysis of social trends, online media, and digital culture in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to content, including the Weibo Watch newsletter, which provides deeper insights into the China trends that matter. More about Manya at manyakoetse.com or follow on X.

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

Wahaha and Jinmailang: the Bottled Water OEM Controversy

Published

1 month ago

May 16, 2025

Manya Koetse

What’s in your water? Would a water by any other name taste as good? That’s the main gist of the topic that’s been trending these days after Chinese consumers found out the Wahaha water they purchased was actually produced by Jinmailang, calling it an ‘OEM controversy’ (OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer).

Wahaha Group (娃哈哈集团) is one of the largest food and beverage producers in China. The brand is a beloved one—last year in March, when its founder and chairman Zong Qinghou (宗庆后) passed away, people collectively began buying Wahaha water to show sympathy for the brand and for Zong, who was seen as a patriotic and humble businessman.

Big bottle of Wahaha (meaning “laughing child”) water.

In fact, that movement to pay tribute to Wahaha got a bit out of hand and turned into a grassroots campaign to boycott another water brand: Nongfu Spring, a competitor whose founder, Chinese entrepreneur Zhong Shanshan (钟睒睒), was not considered as patriotic (read more here).

Now, a different kind of ‘controversy’ is unfolding around China’s famous bottled water brand, directly related to last year’s sales boom. Chinese netizens have posted videos and images claiming that the Wahaha purified water they bought was actually produced by Jinmailang (今麦郎)—as stated on the label.

Wahaha water, produced by Jinmailang (今麦郎).

Jinmailang is an entirely separate food enterprise group—mostly known for its noodles—based in Xingtai, Hebei, since 1994. Both Wahaha and Jinmailang produce purified water (纯净水).

The fact that Jinmailang was mentioned on Wahaha’s labels as the producer raised questions: why bother buying Wahaha at all? Consumers might as well buy Jinmailang directly instead of these relabeled bottles? Wahaha is generally more expensive than Jinmailang’s own Blue Label water.

Wahaha’s customer service soon responded, confirming that they had indeed outsourced some of their production to Jinmailang. However, that partnership was terminated in April of this year after certain batches of purified water products failed to pass factory sampling tests (#娃哈哈称已终止和今麦郎代工合作#).

Customer service staff also stated that as long as Wahaha products are purchased through official channels, they comply with Wahaha’s quality standards and are safe to drink.

On May 16, Xinhua News published an interview with Fan Xianguo (范现国), the chairman of Jinmailang, about serving as an OEM for Wahaha. Without mentioning the termination of the partnership, Fan stated that last year, Wahaha’s bottled water sales suddenly soared, and that they began searching for companies that could support them during these peak times while adhering to their strict quality requirements – otherwise they would not be able to meet market demand.

Producing 1.2 billion bottles of water for Wahaha. Jinmailang’s xinua interview.

Jinmailang stepped in around June 2024, promising to support Wahaha’s production. During the peak season, they even prioritized Wahaha’s orders over their own. Over the course of a year, they produced 1.2 billion bottles of water for the company. Speaking about their own brand, Fan stated that they keep their prices as low as possible by minimizing their profits. One bottle of water only gives them 0.02 RMB ($0,0028) profit.

The interview seemed to cause a shift in online sentiments. Many netizens now praised Jinmailang for its response and for stepping in, viewing the cooperation as an example of domestic brands supporting one another.

Some suggested that Wahaha had betrayed Jinmailang by emphasizing the termination of their contract rather than acknowledging how the company had stepped in to help during a time of need.

At the same time, others applauded how Jinmailang turned the situation to its advantage by using it as an opportunity to promote its own brand.

“I’m switching to Jinmailang from now on, it’s way more cost-effective!” one comment read.

Especially since last year’s “water wars”, it’s clear that consumers’ choice of water is about more than quenching thirst alone — it’s also about which brand’s story resonates with them. As the peak season for bottled water is approaching, the OEM controversy comes at an especially unfortunate time for Wahaha. It’s Jinmailang that now seems to be having the last laugh in this OEM controversy.

By Manya Koetse

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

‘Lai Dou Lai Le’: IShowSpeed Debuts in Chinese Online Commercial

Published

1 month ago

May 8, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 A version of this story also appeared in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

The China tour of American Youtube star IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins Jr.) is still echoing on Chinese social media—the hype hasn’t quieted down just yet, especially now that the popular livestreamer launched his very first Chinese commercial recently, just before the May Day holiday.

It’s an online commercial for China’s dairy giant Yili, and—in line with IShowSpeed’s high-energy livestream—it is entertainingly chaotic. Watkins himself posted the video on his Weibo account on April 30.

In China, Watkins is known as 甲亢哥 (Jiǎ Kàng Gē), which literally means “Hyperthyroidism Brother.” Hyperthyroidism is a condition where the thyroid is overactive, leading to symptoms like restlessness, a rapid heartbeat, and high energy levels. Due to Watkins’ fast-paced livestreams and his reputation for running, screaming, and jumping around, the nickname is a tongue-in-cheek reference that fits him well.

The commercial also suits him, as it is a bit of a rollercoaster. It begins like a typical celebrity endorsement, with Watkins promoting a dairy drink, but quickly shifts into a quirky narrative. In it, Watkins appears god-like, watching over people from a mountaintop and encouraging them to try new things. The ad then morphs into a music video before ending with some inspirational words from the YouTuber himself. Watch the commercial here.

The slogan used in the commercial is “lái dōu lái le” (来都来了), along with the English tagline “Enjoy milk, enjoy holiday.”

“Lái dōu lái le” (来都来了) is a simple phrase that basically means “You’re already here,” and implies a light-hearted “Why not?” to encourage people to go on and do something (since you’ve come this far), or try something new.

Dao Insights’ Yimin Wang explained it as having a positive and daring tone to try new things that you’d otherwise “wouldn’t, couldn’t, or even shouldn’t,” much like “YOLO” from the early 2010s (link).

On Xiaohongshu, typical responses to the commercial describe it as “creative” and “cute.” More notably, many users see it as proof of how successful Watkins’ tour in China has been. “He’s like a native celebrity in China now,” one commenter remarked.

By Manya Koetse

(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

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