How Do Prices Differ From One Luckin Coffee Store to Another?

Luckin Coffee charges different prices at different stores, and the gap is not random. The 2023 price list shows a standard Americano at 13 yuan, an extra-strength Americano at 16 yuan, a Latte at 15 yuan, and the Little Black Cup SOE line from 17 to 21 yuan, with store tiering and pickup orders often costing more than delivery.

Classic coffee drinks are made with blended coffee beans, while the Little Black Cup series uses single-origin SOE beans such as Yirgacheffe. The Raw Coconut family, Luckin's breakout hit line, sits at 18 to 19 yuan. The top ten most popular drinks list helps newcomers pick a cup, and sweeter options usually avoid any bitter edge.

Luckin Coffee has been astonishingly fast in product iteration in recent years, with new products emerging one after another, but have you noticed that prices actually differ from store to store? This article compiles Luckin's latest 2023 price list, covering classic coffee, the Little Black Cup SOE series, the Raw Coconut family, Velvet Latte, and other popular products, and also ranks the top ten drinks most worth trying. At the same time, it provides an in-depth analysis of phenomena such as price differences caused by store tiering and self-pickup being more expensive than delivery, combining media investigations and employee statements. In addition, the article also retains related recommendations for Front Street Coffee for coffee lovers' reference. Whether you are a regular Luckin customer or a coffee beginner, this article can help you choose that cup more wisely.

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In recent years, Luckin's R&D team has been launching new products at a pace that feels like riding a rocket. Whether in terms of thematic concepts or specific products, the speed of iteration is dizzying. If you are standing in front of a Luckin store and do not know what to order, you might as well go straight for the latest single-item release—usually it has a sweet taste, so you do not need to worry about it being too bitter. Friends who prefer sweeter flavors can also try Luckin's Little Black Cup series, which has a pretty good reputation.

Luckin Coffee's latest 2023 price list is as follows:

Classic coffee products (made with blended coffee beans)

Latte 15 yuan Caramel Latte 17 yuan Okinawa Brown Sugar Latte 17 yuan Vanilla Latte 17 yuan

Flat White Coffee 17 yuan Standard Americano 13 yuan Extra-Strength Americano 16 yuan

Little Black Cup series (made with SOE single-origin specialty coffee beans)

Yirgacheffe Dirty 19 yuan Yirgacheffe Flat White 21 yuan Yirgacheffe Americano 17 yuan Yirgacheffe Latte 19 yuan

Cheese Latte series

Cheese Latte 18 yuan Red Bean Paste Latte 21 yuan

Raw Coconut family (Luckin's debut hit bestseller products)

Raw Coconut Latte 18 yuan Coconut Cloud Latte 19 yuan Raw Coconut Velvet Latte 19 yuan Raw Coconut Mocha 21 yuan Raw Coconut Matcha 19 yuan Meteorite Raw Coconut Latte 20 yuan

Velvet Latte series

Velvet Latte 18 yuan Raw Coconut Velvet Latte 19 yuan Okinawa Brown Sugar Velvet Latte 19 yuan Vanilla Velvet Latte 19 yuan

Thick Milk Latte series (made with rich whole milk)

Thick Milk Latte 16 yuan Sea Salt Cheese Thick Milk Latte 19 yuan Meteorite Thick Milk Latte 19 yuan

Luckin Ice (smoothie series)

Matcha Mango Luckin Ice 22 yuan Cappuccino Luckin Ice 19 yuan Matcha Luckin Ice 19 yuan Chocolate Luckin Ice 19 yuan

Earlier, some media pointed out that some Luckin Coffee products had quietly increased by one yuan, and the price for in-store self-pickup was actually higher than for delivery.

According to the WeChat public account "IQ Tax Research Center," on April 24 of this year, when the organization placed self-pickup and delivery orders separately at the same store, it found that the final self-pickup price was actually higher than delivery.

The reason for this inversion is that delivery orders require paying the courier fee, so the listed price on the platform is relatively lower.

The research center also gave an example in its public account, saying that at the Guangyao Dongfang Center store and the Century Economic and Trade Building store in Haidian District, Beijing, the same Matcha Luckin Ice was not priced the same.

The Guangyao Dongfang Center store listed Matcha Luckin Ice at 18 yuan, while the Century Economic and Trade Building store sold it for 20 yuan.

In addition, by checking Dianping, it can be found that the pricing of Vanilla Latte at the two stores also differs.

By May 18, when the person placed an order again, they found that Luckin Coffee had increased by another one yuan.

Afterward, they called Luckin customer service to verify the price issue.

The explanation given by customer service was: delivery orders require paying the rider a delivery fee, so the price will be slightly lower.

As for why two Luckin stores less than 500 meters apart have different prices, an employee at a Luckin store near Hangtianqiao revealed: "Luckin stores are divided into tier-one and tier-two stores. We belong to a tier-two store, and the nearby stores are tier-one stores, so our prices are one to two yuan more expensive than theirs."

Speaking of the price increase, the employee further said: "Some customers may not accept the current prices of tier-two stores. Our store is adjusting prices first as a pilot to observe customers' reactions. If everyone can accept it, prices will gradually increase later. Nearby Luckin stores will also follow and eventually become consistent with us. We can't keep selling coffee for just over ten yuan forever, and we can't keep losing money forever."

In fact, this topic was also discussed by netizens on Douban earlier:

The information presented on the webpage matches the above statement and likewise points to Luckin's store tiering—the difference between tier-one stores and tier-two stores.

However, as of press time, Luckin Coffee officials had not yet made a public response to the above information.

In its early days, Luckin Coffee was jokingly called by netizens "the merchant that loves giving out coupons the most" because of its lavish subsidies. Later, a financial fraud scandal broke out, stunning the public. People thought Luckin would bid farewell to the coupon era, but unexpectedly it announced that users could still receive coupons such as 1.8 discount, 2.8 discount, and 3.8 discount. Later, Luckin, mired in difficulties, announced that it would optimize stores and adjust discount intensity, but it only relaxed the discount from the original 2 discount to 4.8 discount. During this period, Luckin also sent a signal: delisting is delisting, new products will still be released, and new users can still enjoy discounts and continue to take advantage of the deals.

It is worth noting that after experiencing the financial turmoil, Luckin did not collapse. Instead, it delivered "fairly good" results and is gradually getting back on the track of development.

*Some materials and image sources: IQ Tax Research Center WeChat public account

*Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.