Celebrating Year of the Snake: 5 unique lai see designs from HK brands

During the Lunar New Year, giving lai see is a beloved tradition in Hong Kong. It represents blessings and goodwill, signifies prosperity and joy, and enhances community bonds.

In recent years, many brands in Hong Kong have embraced this tradition by introducing unique lai see designs and campaigns. For example, starting today (27 January), Octopus Cards is distributing HK$68.8 million in red packets to encourage local spending and support the city’s transition to a cashless economy.

This festive period highlights brands’ creativity while offering them a chance to engage with consumers on a more personal level. Here are some notable lai see packets that have captured the attention of our Hong Kong newsroom during this Year of the Snake.

7-Eleven Hong Kong

7-Eleven Hong Kong has teamed up with two beloved Japanese icons, Peko-chan from Fujiya and Sho-chan, to unveil a special collection ahead of Chinese New Year.  

Given the popularity of Peko-chan and Sho-chan, their pairing in this collection symbolises "good luck and happiness", wishing everyone a New Year filled with blessings and joy. 

As part of the partnership, 7-Eleven has unveiled the "Sho-chan x Peko-chan Red Packet" collection. These red packets feature vibrant geometric patterns and witty messages to delight consumers’ friends and family. With quirky blessings such as "May you have both wealth and a great figure" (有錢有身材) and "May you enjoy delicious food every day” (日日食到舔舔脷), these red packets seek to bring smiles and laughter this Lunar New Year. The collection features six designs, each containing two red packets, allowing customers to choose the perfect ones to share their wishes with family and friends.

Coca-Cola X Cityplaza

Coca-Cola Hong Kong and Cityplaza have created an exclusive, limited-edition “LIVE HAPPY Cheers!” red packet set inspired by Coca-Cola’s 2025 Chinese New Year special-edition firework-themed design. 

The red packet set includes four designs, with vibrant, dopamine-boosting colours as the main palette. Each design features contrasting colour combinations of red-purple, pink-green, orange-purple and peach-gold, creating a lively, joyful atmosphere that injects boundless happiness into the New Year celebrations.

Against a bottom background of rolling mountains and seas, two classic curved Coca-Cola glass bottles are clinked together, instantly sparking brilliant fireworks that soar into the sky, symbolising the moment when friends and family gather to celebrate and welcome the New Year. The gold-foiled firework patterns on the red packets are dazzlingly colourful, representing New Year wishes for prosperity. Upon closer inspection, people will discover the classic curved Coca-Cola bottle hidden within the fireworks, suggesting that Coca-Cola is there to accompany them throughout the year. 

The four red packet designs feature different gold-foiled firework patterns, including goldfish and yuanbao, symbolising abundance; bamboo and bamboo shoots, representing spring’s vitality; temari balls and auspicious clouds, symbolising good fortune and happiness; and mizuhiki knots and New Year flowers, celebrating deep friendships.

From 15 to 28 January 2025, customers can redeem the red packet set and Cityplaza mall e-vouchers with designated spending.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (“HKDL”) is gearing up to bring consumers a series of events to ring in 2025. From 17 January to 16 February, guests can reunite with family and friends to join the "Magical year after year" Chinese New Year celebration.

The festive spirit continues with the Chinese New Year edition of “Mickey & Friends Street Celebration.” Dressed in vibrant outfits, Mickey, Minnie, and their friends, along with Duffy and Friends, will ride Mickey’s Main Street Express, bringing excitement to all along Main Street, USA. As they celebrate, their energy and joy will make the street come alive, creating a joyous atmosphere.

Starting from the first day of Chinese New Year at the entrance of the park, guests can even receive a Disney-themed red packet containing a gold chocolate coin, as well as dining and shopping vouchers. Lai see packets are limited and available only while stocks last.

The Lai See packet design features an enchanting image of Mickey and Minnie performing a festive lion dance to celebrate the Chinese New Year. As visitors open the packet, a dazzling golden rolled-up snake, inspired by Kaa from The Jungle Book, pops out to bring them blessings of longevity and make themselves fortune shine. There’s also a whimsical Mickey-themed twist with an upside-down "福" (Fok) symbol, conveying heartfelt wishes for a prosperous Year of the Snake to everyone.

As part of the campaign, the Chinese New Year set menu featuring the exquisite Chinese Golden Pot, symbolises prosperity and good fortune and is served at Main Street Corner Cafe hosted by Coca-Cola.

HSBC 

With the Chinese New Year approaching, this year also marks HSBC's 160th anniversary. To celebrate this occasion, HSBC has launched a limited edition set of festive laisees, wishing customers a prosperous Year of the Snake and continued opportunities in the year ahead. 

HSBC has launched a festive lai see set for its anniversary celebration for the first time. The set includes five envelopes featuring the HSBC copper lion in bright, celebratory colours, adorned with vibrant floral patterns. This design blends a modern aesthetic with traditional elements, symbolising a new year of continuity and renewal.

Meanwhile, the back of the lai see features a silhouette of HSBC's historical headquarters in Central, highlighting the brand's 160-year journey of growth alongside Hong Kong.

Cheuk Shum, head of marketing, wealth and personal banking, Hong Kong, HSBC, said: “The tradition of giving lai see is a precious custom during the Lunar New Year and holds great significance. This year, as we celebrate our 160th anniversary, HSBC customers can send e-laisees through PayMe and the HSBC Hong Kong mobile banking app. We are also introducing a limited edition of lai see to celebrate the new year with our customers and honor HSBC's 160 years of brand accomplishments."

Standard Chartered Hong Kong

Standard Chartered Hong Kong has launched two designs of lai see to share wishes with customers as the new year approaches. With the theme “The symphony of flowers brings prosperity to every household” (繁花似錦 繁榮萬家), the design highlights nature's beauty with exquisite detail.

This design celebrates the significance of nature utilising exquisite detail. Surrounded by the profusion of blooming flowers, it conveys a fervent wish for prosperity. This floral motif symbolises stability and growth, just like botanic plants within the forest, deeply rooted into the earth, thriving and prospering for life. Drawing from Asian symbolism, butterflies embody joy and longevity, bees as diligence, and hummingbirds as resilience. 

The vibrant and dynamic colours with delicate golden lines radiate dazzling beams, symbolising lasting wealth. Entwined within the rich embodiment of traditional Chinese blessings, calls for “countless blessings” (萬福齊來) and “blooming of infinite wealth” (花開富貴), extending heartfelt wishes for the new year.

To convey their wishes to the community, Standard Chartered Hong Kong has launched six animated WhatsApp stickers featuring its logo as part of the same collection.

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