Let’s set the record straight from the start; we really aren’t cursing but this soft drink is actually called lan jiao. If you’re a true Malaysian, you’d know that in Hokkien, lan jiao means penis and this phrase is used by everyone regardless of race in heated arguments.
However, in China, a relatively new soft drink was named lan jiao and Chinese netizens completely lost it before the beverage was even launched in 2017. It was reported that over 100 million of those bottles were sold last summer.
Source: China Press
According to Ifooday, the blue-coloured cola-flavoured beverage was launched by a company called Musiney and they purposely went with the bold name in order to attract the youths’ attention. So far, we’d say the marketing strategy has worked well because Chinese netizens can’t stop talking about it on social media!
The packaging is quite minimalist and it was said that the shape of the bottle resembles an hourglass figure of a woman. Meanwhile, the tagline of the drink can be loosely translated as –
“No matter how hard it gets, you shouldn’t scream, drink up, have a lan jiao”.
LOL!
Source: Ifooday
The tagline aims to deliver a positive vibe to its consumers and hopefully everyone who’s drinking it will never give up in life. It’s also a way for the company to give back to society by motivating the people with the tagline.
Instead of dark brown, the soft drink comes in a blue hue because the company wants lan jiao to stand out among other more established cola-flavoured drinks. Ideally, they want consumers to imagine themselves surfing at an ocean beach and to embrace the vast sea.
Source: China Press
We have yet to come across this drink in Malaysia but you can get it on Taobao, an online shopping platform. Five bottles of lan jiao cost about 30 Yuan (approx. RM18). So far, the reviews are mostly positive as many buyers said the beverage actually tastes good!
To be honest, even if this beverage successfully makes it into Malaysia, ordering it would be a huge problem because shouting, “Boss, bagi satu lan jiao” is just not right, at least not in Malaysia.
What do you think of this soda’s interesting name? Let us know in the comments!
Also read: Netizens are Going Crazy Over This TRANSPARENT Milk Tea That’s Sold in Malaysia
