TREASURE trio HYUNHAYO turns coffee runs into ZUS ambassadorship
The coffee chain's new TREASURE ambassadors follow a Kuala Lumpur store visit, free drink vouchers and a teaser-led reveal.
Fans of TREASURE had a story about ZUS Coffee long before the Malaysian chain had an official K-pop ambassador campaign. Members Choi Hyunsuk, Haruto and Yoshi had dropped by a Kuala Lumpur outlet while on tour, and Haruto later treated fans to coffee vouchers after a music-show win.
That history makes the latest announcement feel less like a random celebrity pairing. On October 18, ZUS confirmed the trio as its new brand ambassadors. Together they go by HYUNHAYO, a combination of names that TREASURE fans recognize from the group. Now the familiar store visit has become part of a public campaign.
Table of contents
Jump to each section:
- How a coffee stop became a K-pop partnership
- ZUS builds the reveal around fan anticipation
- Coconut drinks and stickers give fans a way in
- Why the pairing matters beyond one fandom
- What marketers should know about this partnership
How a coffee stop became a K-pop partnership
The link began in ordinary fashion: three performers from YG Entertainment's group TREASURE visited ZUS Coffee's Pasar Seni outlet in Kuala Lumpur during the act's Asia tour. It became more public when Haruto promised fans a free coffee if the group earned a music-show win for "IF I."
After the win, vouchers reached fans in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. That earlier giveaway was not the ambassador campaign, but it gave supporters a real moment involving the idols and the coffee chain. Fans subsequently called for a formal partnership.
In fandom, a brand mention is not always a sponsorship. Here, ZUS had a pre-existing interaction to build on rather than inventing a connection from scratch.
ZUS builds the reveal around fan anticipation
The public build-up leaned into the mystery. A short teaser showed three figures from behind arriving at a blue ZUS Coffee storefront, prompting guesses about who was about to join the brand. The company then revealed HYUNHAYO as its ambassadors, turning the guessing game into a formal announcement.
This was not ZUS's first attempt to make an ambassador reveal feel like a fan conversation. When the brand brought in Malaysian singer Siti Nurhaliza earlier in 2026, silhouette teasers followed a playful billboard that hinted at her involvement.
The HYUNHAYO version has an extra ingredient: a story fans knew before the teasing began. The reveal rewards people who remember the Pasar Seni stop and the free-drink promise, while still giving new customers an easy way to understand why these three artists fit the chain.
Coconut drinks and stickers give fans a way in
The creative is tied to ZUS Coffee's Coconut Series, which the brand identified as a favorite of the members. Drinks named in local coverage of the partnership include Matcha Cloud Coconut Water, Buttercreme Coconut Water, Coconut Americano and Chococo Latte.
That gives the campaign a tangible place at the counter. Someone drawn in by TREASURE can order a drink associated with the ambassadors rather than simply watch a video and move on. The same reporting says exclusive HYUNHAYO sticker packs are part of the promotion, adding a small collector angle for fans who enjoy keeping mementos from artist collaborations.
The tagged brand accounts suggest the new ambassador activity covers Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei. This is separate from the earlier free-drink voucher distribution, which also reached fans in Indonesia. Exact timing and availability may differ by market and should be checked with local ZUS channels.
Why the pairing matters beyond one fandom
ZUS is a Southeast Asian coffee chain whose everyday pitch is that specialty coffee should feel like a necessity, not an occasional luxury. HYUNHAYO makes that positioning visible through a repeatable habit: stopping for a drink. The partnership does not need an elaborate fictional world to explain why the artists and product belong in the same frame.
TREASURE has also appeared in a different consumer category recently. Indonesian snack brand Chitato worked with the group on a self-expression campaign in September. The contrast is revealing: one brand attached the group to a broad message about identity, while ZUS is drawing on an actual coffee purchase, an artist promise and a recognizable fan story.
That does not prove ZUS will sell more coconut drinks, and no verified sales or conversion results have been disclosed. It does show how a fandom can supply cultural context that makes an ambassador announcement easier to grasp across markets.
What marketers should know about this partnership
The interesting part of the HYUNHAYO campaign is the order of events. The fan story came first; the official marketing deal came later. That sequence gives the brand something concrete to work with.
- Notice real moments before writing a campaign script. A tour stop and a fulfilled coffee promise established a recognizable connection. The brand could build its reveal around something that had already happened.
- Let the audience solve a small mystery. Silhouette teasers work best when there are fair clues. People who recognized the members' earlier visit had a reason to pay attention to the eventual reveal.
- Give the partnership an everyday expression. The Coconut Series and reported sticker packs connect fandom interest to ordering a drink and, potentially, keeping a souvenir. That is clearer than a celebrity portrait with no product role.
- Keep regional details precise. The markets tied to the ambassador announcement are not identical to those covered by Haruto's earlier voucher offer. Fans should be able to check what is available where they live.
The campaign also illustrates a useful difference between renting attention and recognizing a community's own memories. ZUS has not disclosed results that would tell us how much the partnership changes buying behavior. But its creative starting point is specific and verifiable.
For brands courting music fans, that specificity matters. Fans know when an artist has genuinely encountered a product. The opportunity is to respect that existing story, then make the next chapter worth following.
