On Wednesday, November 15, BELIFT, the subsidiary of HYBE Labels that houses ENHYPEN, announced that the group will be collaborating with Baskin Robbins to promote their upcoming studio album, ORANGE BLOOD. While fans were excited about the special merchandise and food and beverages menu that was expected to launch as part of the collaboration, they were soon disappointed when they learned that Baskin Robbins was a subsidiary of the SPC Group.
SPC Group has been boycotted by several individuals in South Korea for almost a year now. This came after one of its employees reportedly died in an industrial accident in Gyeonggi Province. However, what fueled citizens' anger was the company's response to the alleged accident, which many thought was insensitive.
When ENGENEs learned that ENHYPEN would be collaborating with SPC Group, they criticized BELIFT and called them out for risking the group's reputation and upcoming album, ORANE BLOOD.
"Please do research" - Fans criticize BELIFT after ENHYPEN's upcoming collaboration with SPC Group comes to light
In January 2022, a 56-year-old woman was reportedly caught in the Shany Confectionary factory machine in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, another subsidiary of SPC Group, ultimately leading to her death. However, this incident occurred only eight months after another alleged industrial accident in Pyeongtaek at the Paris Baguette factory, where a woman in her 20s died after reportedly being pulled into a machine while working alone.
There were also several speculations about SPC Group trying to reach a settlement agreement on the alleged accident on the very night of the young woman's funeral, as per Koreaboo.
After the news about the alleged accidents came to light, South Koreans began boycotting SPC Group and protesting against the company while simultaneously straying away from all its subsidiaries. However, when it was announced that ENHYPEN would be collaborating with Baskin Robbins, fans were both disappointed and enraged.
Fans took to social media to react to the news and stated that ENHYPEN's collaboration would receive criticism and not do well commercially. Since the collaboration also closely relates to the group's upcoming album release, ORANGE BLOOD, fans expressed that it can risk their comeback and the group's reputation.
Moreover, fans also criticized the choice of words used to announce the collaboration. The special menu released for ENHYPEN's collaboration with Baskin Robbins consistently used the words "Orange Blood" in the names of all the food and beverages on the menu. Fans believed this was insensitive considering the alleged deaths that took place in SPC Group's factories.
However, after much criticism, BELIFT, HYBE's subsidiary, uploaded a new menu. They changed the names of the food and beverages and also removed the Orange Blood Cake completely from the menu. While fans were happy to see that the agency listened to their criticism and demands, they were still unsettled by the fact that ENHYPEN was collaborating with SPC Group.
While fans love the group and are excited about their upcoming album, they are concerned about their collaboration and how it could impact their upcoming release.
