Kudi Coffee apologizes to Wang Yibo for improper handling of talent material upon contract expiration.

DoNews reports that on February 28th, in the early morning, Kudi Coffee posted on social media: “Recently, we have noticed that some stores mishandled the disposal of expired promotional materials. We sincerely apologize for this.”

Kudi Coffee stated that their collaboration with Wang Yibo has concluded successfully. “During the partnership, Mr. Wang Yibo’s professionalism, dedication, and support for the brand have always been deeply appreciated and respected. We sincerely apologize to Mr. Wang Yibo, his fans, and our consumers for the inappropriate actions of certain stores.”

Kudi Coffee also said that after the incident, the company took immediate action: terminated cooperation with the involved stores and closed them; enhanced staff training, standardized material recycling processes, upgraded inspection and supervision mechanisms to prevent similar incidents; strengthened brand management, and adopted a more rigorous attitude toward every partner and consumer.

Previously, some fans exposed that certain Kudi store employees deliberately filmed and spread inappropriate behavior when destroying materials featuring Wang Yibo’s image, such as cropping and crushing the portraits, and uploaded the videos to social media, which was accused of defaming and damaging the person’s likeness.

In January 2024, Kudi Coffee officially announced Wang Yibo as the brand ambassador. After signing, sales at many stores surged dramatically, with some franchisees reporting an 80% to 350% month-over-month increase. In January 2025, Kudi Coffee officially announced Wang Yibo as the global brand ambassador, marking the company’s first major move after reaching a thousand-store scale.