The new store is seeking to capitalise on the runaway success of Luckin’s baijiu-infused latte, a beverage collaboration between the two brands which sold 5.42 million cups on its first day and generated sales above RMB 900m ($124m) for the coffee chain last year
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The Luckin Coffee x Kweichow Moutai ‘Four Seasons and Eight Solar Terms’ theme store | Photo credit: Luckin Coffee
China’s largest coffee chain Luckin Coffee has opened a Kweichow Moutai-themed store in Shenzhen as it seeks to build upon the success of its baijiu latte – an espresso-based beverage infused with the popular Chinese tipple.
The co-branded ‘Four Seasons and Eight Solar Terms’ store features design inspired by revered traditional Chinese painter Qi Baishi. Luckin Coffee CEO Jinyi Guo and Kweichow Moutai Group Chairman Ding Xiongjun both attended the opening ceremony and said the businesses will ‘further deepen their long-term strategic partnership’.
“As two leading enterprises from their respective fields, Luckin Coffee and Kweichow Moutai will continue to deepen co-creation and cooperation, and continuously promote the dynamism of both companies,” said Guo.
Luckin Coffee first collaborated with the popular Chinese alcoholic spirit brand in September 2023 and sold 5.42 million baijiu lattes on the first day of the partnership – generating sales above RMB 100m ($13.7m).
By the end of 2023, Luckin Coffee had sold 45.83 million baijiu-infused lattes, with total sales exceeding RMB 900m ($124m). In a press release, the coffee chain said the beverage had become a ‘strategic long-term product’.
Brand collaborations have become highly profitable for Chinese coffee chains, with market rival Cotti Coffee leveraging the widespread popularity of the Wuchang Rice brand to launch its own rice milk latte in 2023. Meanwhile, specialty coffee chain Manner Coffee opened co-branded stores with fashion giant Louis Vuitton fragrance brand Jo Malone.
Luckin Coffee achieved 87% year-on-year sales growth last year to reach RMB 24.9bn ($3.5bn), with profits reaching RMB 3bn ($426m) compared to RMB 1.1bn ($167m) in 2022.
Underpinned by a nimble store footprint of delivery and pick-up only sites, Luckin Coffee opened more than 8,000 net new outlets in the 12 months ended 31 December 2023 to exceed 16,240 outlets.