BART’s Anime Mascots Featured in Bubble Tea Collaboration with Yifang to Drive Gen Z Ridership

In a first-of-its-kind in the United States partnership between a government transit system and a popular boba brand, BART is collaborating with Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea Northern California by featuring BART's anime mascots on drink menu items and limited-edition collector cup sleeves as well as in-store photo spots. Collaborations between beverage brands and hit anime series and movies are wildly popular and BART is jumping in on the trend to engage new riders and promote BART to new audiences.

The collaboration and cup sleeve giveaway will launch on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at four Yifang locations in the Bay Area all located within one mile of a BART station. The collaboration will last through the month of October or while supplies last.

The exclusive cup sleeves feature four of BART's Anime Mascots­- Baylee and her goat fan, Nimbus, Mira, and Jasmine enjoying fruit tea drinks, the BART logo, as well as Yifang's logo. Yifang locations have paired special menu combinations with BART's Anime Mascots by matching their color palettes or character personalities.

The four locations include:

• University of California, Berkeley Yifang: 2516 Bancroft Way, Berkeley (near Downtown Berkeley BART Station)
• Colma Yifang: 4923 Junipero Serra Blvd, Colma (near Colma BART Station)
• San Francisco Chinatown Yifang: 870 Washington Street, San Francisco (near Montgomery BART Station)
• Walnut Creek: 1349 Locust St, Walnut Creek (Near Walnut Creek BART Station)

Planned pop-up events:

Inspired by fan events celebrating anime, gaming, and K-pop, BART is planning pop-up events at two Yifang locations featuring the BART Anime standees and special giveaways. For these planned events, anyone who comes in a full-body BART themed costume or BART Anime Mascot cosplay will receive a BART Anime sticker sheet with their cup sleeve, while supplies last.

• Wednesday, October 16th at the Berkeley Yifang location 3pm-6pm.
• Wednesday, October 30th at the Colma Yifang location 5pm-7pm.

"As BART works to strengthen relationships with youth and young adults to increase ridership, this collaboration is meant to surprise and delight potential riders and offer an immersive consumer experience that appeals to anime fans," said BART's Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost who launched BART's Anime Mascot Program to promote public transportation use, especially among youth riders, a growing and reliable ridership demographic.

"This cross-promotional marketing opportunity is a way to celebrate our classic Taiwanese flavored drinks as well as BART's anime mascots that were inspired not just by Bay Area culture but also transit systems in Taiwan which use anime mascots to connect with their communities," said Alexus Lopez, Marketing Manager for Yifang NorCal.

Yifang offers gourmet Taiwanese tea drinks at multiple locations across the Bay Area. Their most sought-out drink, Yifang Fruit Tea, uses home-made organic cane sugar, seasonal fresh fruits, and natural ingredients.

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