The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2026
Hema's wood-ear fungus label drew a bawdy reading — and sales fell 42%
Hema's pink wood-ear fungus shipped with a label read as bawdy innuendo; after complaints it apologised and scrapped the packaging — and sales fell 42%.
Hema (盒马)
What happened
In May 2026 Hema's self-brand 粉木耳 (pink wood-ear fungus) went on sale in regional markets. Its packaging drew a female silhouette that, combined with the '粉木耳' image and the line '粉嘟嘟，蘑菇届萌新', invited a bawdy reading consumers flagged as 低俗擦边球 marketing.
A wave of complaints pushed the company to act on the night of 25 May: Hema apologised, scrapped the entire packaging stock, and pulled the affected products, while promising an internal review of its product-approval process.
As a regionally-listed product, the item also drew the attention of regulators, who began looking into the case. The single product's monthly sales fell 42% month-on-month as the row ran.
Why it happened
- Packaging aimed at cute '萌' styling crossed into double-entendre, and the '粉木耳'-plus-silhouette pairing read as deliberate innuendo.
- Approval let it ship: a self-brand product with a double-meaning label reached regional shelves before any review caught the reading.
- The sales hit made it costly: the single item's monthly sales fell 42% as the row ran.
- Regulators joining the case turned an embarrassing packaging row into a compliance matter.
The lesson
Cute packaging that reads as innuendo is a design failure the review process should catch. When its second meaning reaches the shelf, scrapping the stock is the least of the cost.
Sources
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