Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year, as many brands label it) is one of the biggest email moments of Q1.
Below are real Lunar New Year email marketing examples, the subject lines that carried them, and how to get inspiration from each tactic for your own campaign.
When it comes to widening your audience base, it’s always great to look at diversity of culture. As such, Western New Year and Lunar New Year are both celebrated around the world to express one’s culture and heritage. This means twice the opportunity for your marketing campaign to reach different customers depending on what calendar they observe for this important festival.
For Chinese, in China and in ethnic communities around the world, the Lunar New Year is the most important and most festive holiday of the year. And for most Asian cultures, it is an occasion to celebrate the harvest and worship the gods and ask for good harvests in times to come.
The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, so the dates of the holiday vary slightly from year to year, beginning sometime between January to mid-February.
We’ll take you to several email examples, including promotions:
1. Limited edition themed packaging
Subject line: What’s gold and red? 🐯❤️ Our Lunar New Year exclusives.
Sent by Clinique
Clinique, a popular personal care brand, put more effort this year to celebrate color and theme for the new year.
Red for good fortune and happiness together with gold for wealth are the auspicious colors of the new year, thus they created a limited edition packaging for some of their items. You’ll get hooked with this look and feel of new year exclusives - year of the Tiger indeed!
- Why it works: Red + gold isn't decoration, it's signal. It says "special and time-limited" before they read a word.
- Steal this: Reskin a hero product in red/gold, call it an "exclusive," put the zodiac animal in the subject line.
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2. Organize the giveaway
Subject line: Last Chance to Enter the Lunar New Year Giveaway 🏮
Seny by Elemis
In this promo for Lunar New Year, Elemis excites us with the use of the famous “red envelope”. Shoppers will surely find they’re lucky if they win the $200 gift card. Can we just say that this well-known beauty brand is feeling even more generous? That’s why they’re giving away gifts – 6 pieces free items with minimum spend.
- Why it works: The red envelope (lucky money) is the most recognizable Lunar New Year symbol there is. Instant relevance + a prize hook.
- Steal this: Tie a prize to the holiday's meaning (luck, fortune). "Enter to win" + a deadline = opens.
3. Celebrate with a purpose
Subject line: HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR
Sent by urate
This email from Aurate might come with a simple subject line and greeting. Same is true with its email body saying “Get gold and give back”. But the purpose that comes with it is simply irresistible. They encourage you to celebrate with a clear mission – to donate to charity as well. So it’s not just buying gold but making gold deeds too.
- Why it works: "Get gold and give back" turns a purchase into a good deed — the buyer feels generous, not sold to. That's what gives a plain "Happy Lunar New Year" subject real weight.
- Steal this: Pair your offer with a donation or cause. Give people a reason to buy that isn't the discount.
4. Link your products to the celebration
Subject line: A Lunar New Year menu made for the microwave
Sent by Anyday
As they say, there’s no celebration without food! This cookware brand makes sure to feature a list of Asian food recipes in perfect timing for the occasion. They're using this holiday as a way to put forward their products and their main proposition value.
- Why it works: No celebration without food. Leading with Asian recipes makes a cookware brand instantly relevant to the holiday — no forced discount needed.
- Steal this: Bridge your product to the holiday's rituals (food, gifting, decorating). Lead with the use case, not the product.
5. Connect with your values and offer a freebie to your subscribers
Subject line: Happy Lunar New Year! 🐯
Sent by Meow Meow Tweet
This email from Meow Meow Tweet, a personal care brand, is composed of simple statements of what their brand is passionate about. It’s also a reassurance that they’re making connections and they go deeper and deeper with their brand mission. What a clear message to their customers that they’re committing themselves to the community this year of the tiger. And here’s a thoughtful way to share their creativity with this free downloadable mobile wallpaper in line with the theme.
- Why it works: A free downloadable wallpaper is a gift with zero friction — no purchase, no catch — so it deepens the relationship instead of asking for the sale.
- Steal this: Give a small, on-theme freebie (wallpaper, guide, playlist). Generosity now, sales later.
6. Direct product suggestion for the event
Subject line: Have a Happy Lunar New Year with Johnnie Walker
Sent by Caskers
Caskers greets us with direct to the point product recommendation. They relate to the Lunar New Year by putting their best product suggestion making it easy to prepare for the occasion when it comes to the choice of drink.
- Why it works: Sometimes clarity wins. One specific pick ("Johnnie Walker") kills the "what do I even buy?" hesitation right when people are shopping for the occasion.
- Steal this: When buying intent is high, skip the story — recommend one clear product for the moment.
7. Provide a gift guide
Subject line: The dawn of Lunar New Year
Sent by Aesop
Aesop sent us a greeting with a powerful Confucius quote “Be in harmony, yet be different”. In this email, they also send a gift guide that showcases one’s delight in being a unique individual. We can see that more and more ways are being introduced by different brands to reflect on the meaning of the celebration. Just like what this skincare brand does here.
- Why it works: The Confucius line ("Be in harmony, yet be different") sets an elevated, cultural tone that fits the brand — then the gift guide sells quietly underneath it.
- Steal this: Frame your gift guide with a line of meaning, not "SHOP NOW." Let taste do the selling.
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8. Asian spotlight
Subject line: A Lunar New Year Gift for YOU!
Sent by Huda Beauty
Now an Asian face takes the center stage. Huda Beauty shows their year of the tiger collection and partners it with a beautiful face of an Asian race woman that wears the makeup collection. It’s just a perfect image for the celebration.
- Why it works: Casting an Asian model for the Year of the Tiger collection makes the campaign feel authentic to the people actually celebrating — not bolted on.
- Steal this: Make representation real in the creative. Who's in the photo signals who the email is for.
9. Suggest an overall look for the occasion
Subject line: Just in: our Lunar New Year Collection
Sent by Tory Burch
For some, Lunar New Year has something to do with wearing lucky colors. Just in time for the holiday, Tory Burch made a tiger collection - it’s from head-to-toe look they think perfect for the event.
- Why it works: A head-to-toe "lucky look" lifts the average order — one email, a full outfit, tied to the tradition of wearing lucky colors.
- Steal this: Bundle a complete look or set around the occasion. Sell the outfit, not the single item.
10. Provide a collection of items in line with the holiday
Subject line: Happy Lunar New Year
Sent by Urban Stems
Lunar New Year is associated with good fortune. And there are some gifts that we believe to attract even more luck. This is the theme brought to us by this email from Urban Stems. Here, they promote a collection of items rather than just one product.
- Why it works: Framing flowers as luck-bringing turns a product into a wish — and a small curated collection gives choice without overwhelming the reader.
- Steal this: Curate a short "good fortune" collection instead of pushing one SKU. Let the meaning carry it.
Lunar New Year email subject lines to swipe
If you're specifically here for subject lines, they're all here: again, you'll see it's mostly about colors/contests! Make sure to be relevant to the culture 👏
- 1. "What's gold and red? 🐯❤️ Our Lunar New Year exclusives" — Clinique (curiosity + color)
- 2. "Last Chance to Enter the Lunar New Year Giveaway 🏮" — Elemis (urgency + prize)
- 3. "Happy Lunar New Year" — Aurate (clean + values)
- 4. "A Lunar New Year menu made for the microwave" — Anyday (product tie-in)
- 5. "Happy Lunar New Year! 🐯" — Meow Meow Tweet (simple + freebie)
- 6. "Have a Happy Lunar New Year with Johnnie Walker" — Caskers (direct product)
- 7. "The dawn of Lunar New Year" — Aesop (poetic + gift guide)
- 8. "A Lunar New Year Gift for YOU!" — Huda Beauty (gift + you)
- 9. "Just in: our Lunar New Year Collection" — Tory Burch (newness)
- 10. "Happy Lunar New Year" — Urban Stems (collection over single product)
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Lunar New Year 2027?
Lunar New Year 2027 falls on February 6, 2027 — the Year of the Goat (also called Sheep or Ram).
Is it called Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year?
Lunar New Year is the umbrella term. It's celebrated across many cultures: China (Chinese New Year / Spring Festival), Korea (Seollal), Vietnam (Tết) and more. "Chinese New Year" refers specifically to the Chinese celebration. For email, the safe, inclusive default is "Lunar New Year", unless your audience is specifically Chinese, where "Chinese New Year" feels more personal. Know your list, pick the right one.
What are good Lunar New Year email subject lines?
The best ones lean on curiosity and symbolism, not discounts. Examples: 'What's gold and red? Our Lunar New Year exclusives', 'Last chance to enter the Lunar New Year giveaway', and 'Just in: our Lunar New Year collection'.
When should I send my Lunar New Year email campaign?
Send your main campaign 1–2 weeks before the date, then a reminder 2–3 days out. The date moves every year (February 6 in 2027), so lock it early.
What colors and symbols work for Lunar New Year emails?
Red for luck and gold for wealth are the core colors. Red envelopes, lanterns, and the year's zodiac animal are the fastest visual shortcuts to relevance.
