What Does the Cotti Coffee Deal Mean for the Coffee Market?
Cotti Coffee announced on February 28 a co-branding partnership with the mobile game Honor of Kings. The tie-in covers a Taozui series of drinks and limited-edition merchandise based on three popular characters: Gongsun Li, Yang Yuhuan and Wu Zetian. Store staff say the drinks arrive on March 6, although the company has not confirmed a date on official channels.
Founded in 2022, Cotti has relied on co-branding, rapid store openings and low prices to build awareness, from sponsoring Argentina at the World Cup to a SMILEY streetwear partnership. It targets 10,000 stores by 2025, yet Narrow Door Restaurant Eye data lists 232 stores across 81 cities, leaving that goal in question.
Cotti Coffee announced on February 28 a co-branding collaboration with the hit mobile game Honor of Kings, launching the Taozui series of beverages and limited-edition merchandise inspired by the classic images of three highly popular characters: Gongsun Li, Yang Yuhuan, and Wu Zetian. The news immediately drew attention. Although the official launch date has not yet been announced, store materials and netizen photos have already leaked in advance, and store staff revealed that the new products will officially arrive on March 6. This is not Cotti's first time using co-branding to build hype. From sponsoring the Argentina team at the World Cup to partnering with streetwear brand SMILEY, this brand, established only 4 months ago, is seizing the market through a path of "rapid store expansion + ultra-low prices + marketing," and has set a goal of 10,000 stores by 2025. However, data from Narrow Door Restaurant Eye shows that it actually covers only 81 cities with 232 stores, a gap from the advertised "a hundred cities, a thousand stores." Whether Cotti, which is following Luckin's old path, can succeed remains to be seen.
On February 28, Cotti Coffee officially announced a co-branding collaboration with the highly popular mobile game Honor of Kings, using the iconic images of three classic characters in the game as the core design and launching customized "Taozui series beverages" as well as multiple limited-edition peripheral gifts.
According to the information currently released by the official side, the characters involved in this collaboration include Gongsun Li, Yang Yuhuan, and Wu Zetian, each corresponding to three drinks: Taozui Kuke Ice, Taozui Rich Milk Latte, and Taozui Raw Cheese Latte.
As of now, Cotti Coffee has only released promotional images for teasers and has not yet clearly announced the specific launch date of the new products. However, some netizens have already spotted related materials in certain stores, and some have even posted the co-branded packaging bags and cup sleeves on social platforms. Although there is no timetable on official channels, according to store staff, the new products will officially launch on March 6.
Cross-brand collaborations in the coffee industry are no longer anything new, and for Cotti Coffee, which was only founded in 2022, using collaborations to build brand awareness is an important card in its hand.
It has been only four months since the first store opened, and Cotti first became the China regional sponsor of the Argentina national football team during the World Cup, then secured the title sponsorship rights for the 2022 Chengdu Marathon. At the beginning of this year, the brand launched co-branded products with the well-known streetwear brand SMILEY, and now it has once again joined hands with Honor of Kings. Each collaboration has brought it considerable exposure and topical heat.
In terms of operational strategy, Cotti Coffee continues Luckin's early expansion approach, using a combination punch of "rapid store expansion + ultra-low prices + marketing" to compete for market share.
At a franchise policy exchange meeting, Cotti Coffee once clearly proposed the goal of "reaching 10,000 stores by 2025." In the ongoing 9.9 campaign, Cotti uses the "Hundred Cities, Thousand Stores Coffee Carnival" as its promotional point. According to its co-founder, the campaign covers 181 prefecture-level and above cities nationwide, with about 1,300 participating stores in total.
However, statistics from Narrow Door Restaurant Eye show that Cotti currently actually covers only 81 cities, with 232 stores. In addition, on the Cotti Coffee mini-program, when selecting some cities, only stores that are about to open are shown and orders cannot be placed; even when selecting Guangzhou, a total of 12 stores are shown, but only 5 are actually selectable.
Right now, Luckin is trying to refocus on coffee itself to improve product strength, while Cotti Coffee is retreading Luckin's old expansion path. Whether this path can work still remains to be tested by the market.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
