AI Meets Tradition: Modernizing Lunar New Year's Red Envelope Custom

TAIPEI, Taiwan – February 03, 2026 – As families across Taiwan prepare for Lunar New Year, a centuries-old tradition is receiving a high-tech update. The iconic red envelope, or hongbao, long a symbol of good fortune and blessings, is being reimagined through the lens of artificial intelligence. In a landmark collaboration, digital technology leader Perfect Corp. has partnered with ibon Cloud Printing to allow users to design, personalize, and instantly print custom red envelopes using the YouCam Perfect app. This fusion of ancient custom and cutting-edge tech is now accessible at over 7,000 7-ELEVEN convenience stores nationwide, bridging the gap between digital creativity and tangible tradition.

A Digital Makeover for an Ancient Custom

The act of giving red envelopes is a practice steeped in history, a gesture of goodwill meant to ward off evil spirits and usher in prosperity for the year ahead. While the sentiment remains unchanged, the presentation is undergoing a significant evolution. Perfect Corp.'s initiative taps into a growing desire, particularly among younger generations, to add a personal and modern flair to time-honored rituals.

Through the YouCam Perfect app, the process is remarkably seamless. The platform’s “AI Smart Cutout” feature is central to the experience, enabling users to effortlessly lift photos of their children, beloved pets, or family portraits from their camera roll and place them into a variety of festive Lunar New Year templates. What was once a mass-produced paper good can now become a cherished keepsake, a memento that captures a specific moment in a family’s life.

Further reflecting this blend of old and new, the available designs incorporate a dual appeal. Alongside traditional motifs of dragons and auspicious clouds, users can find templates featuring bold, playful phrases like “Get Rich” and “Instant Prosperity.” These expressions, borrowed from the lexicon of social media and pop culture, inject a dose of humor and contemporary relevance that resonates with a digitally native audience, transforming the solemn exchange of blessings into a more lighthearted and personalized interaction.

The Technology Behind the Personal Touch

This initiative is far more than a simple photo-editing feature; it represents a strategic application of Perfect Corp.'s deep expertise in artificial intelligence and augmented reality. While the company is widely known for its YouCam suite of beauty and fashion apps, which have amassed over 1.1 billion downloads globally, this venture signals a significant expansion into broader cultural and lifestyle categories.

The AI powering the red envelope customization is part of a sophisticated ecosystem of tools within the YouCam Perfect app. The platform boasts a powerful generative AI engine capable of text-to-image creation, object removal, and quality enhancement, allowing users with no prior design experience to achieve professional-looking results. By deploying this powerful technology for a culturally significant event like Lunar New Year, the company is making advanced creative tools more accessible and demonstrating their potential to enhance personal expression.

This move aligns with a broader industry trend where AI is evolving from a tool of productivity into a medium for creativity and emotional connection. By enabling a user to easily create a unique red envelope featuring their smiling child, the technology facilitates a more meaningful gift-giving experience, reinforcing the personal bonds that the holiday is meant to celebrate.

A Strategic Partnership Bridging Digital and Physical Worlds

The brilliance of this campaign lies not only in its technological innovation but also in its masterful business strategy. The partnership between Perfect Corp.'s digital platform and ibon's extensive physical network creates a powerful Online-to-Offline (O2O) ecosystem that is uniquely positioned for success.

By integrating with ibon Cloud Printing, the project leverages one of the most ubiquitous infrastructures in Taiwan. The network of over 7,000 7-ELEVEN stores, each equipped with an ibon kiosk, provides unparalleled accessibility. A user can finalize their custom design on their smartphone while waiting in line for coffee and have a physical copy printed and in their hand minutes later. This instant gratification model starkly contrasts with other online personalization services that require shipping and advanced planning, a critical advantage during the hectic holiday season.

To catalyze adoption, ibon is launching the service with a compelling promotion, offering up to 800 free prints per day until February 8th. This is a savvy marketing move designed to lower the barrier to entry, encouraging widespread trial and driving downloads of the YouCam Perfect app. The limited daily number creates a sense of urgency, while the free offer effectively generates buzz and user-generated content as people share their creations online, creating a viral marketing loop.

Redefining Gifting in the Age of AI

Ultimately, this collaboration speaks to a larger shift in consumer behavior and the future of gifting. In an increasingly digital and mass-produced world, there is a growing premium on personalization and authenticity. Consumers are actively seeking ways to make their gestures more meaningful, and technology is providing the tools to do so.

This sentiment was echoed by Perfect Corp. Founder and CEO, Alice Chang, who stated, "A red envelope is more than a gift; it’s a connection. By making creative tools more accessible, we hope to help families add a personal touch to a tradition that brings people together every Lunar New Year."

This initiative empowers individuals to transition from passive consumers to active creators, infusing their own stories and personalities into their gifts. It demonstrates that technology and tradition are not mutually exclusive forces. Instead of replacing old customs, AI can serve as a powerful new instrument for interpreting, celebrating, and passing them on to a new generation, ensuring that the spirit of connection and good fortune continues to thrive in new and creative forms.