Why Is McDonald's Hong Kong Dropping Traditional Coffee?

McDonald's Hong Kong stopped selling Rich Aroma Coffee and Freshly Ground Coffee from 6 PM on a Monday, removing its traditional coffee line from the menu. Combo meal drinks will be upgraded to the McCafé series instead, a move the company framed as internal brand restructuring. Supplier Tsit Wing International saw its share price hit a listing low.

From September 5, McDonald's said combo meals at 250 Hong Kong stores would include free McCafé freshly ground black coffee, with a full upgrade planned within the month covering black coffee and milk coffee. Many residents called the cheap freshly ground coffee their usual breakfast choice, so the change landed hard, and some read it as clearing the way for McCafé.

McDonald's Hong Kong recently announced the discontinuation of its traditional coffee products, sparking widespread market attention. Starting from 6 PM on Monday, Rich Aroma Coffee and Freshly Ground Coffee officially exited the McDonald's Hong Kong menu, a decision that quickly fermented on social platforms. Many residents said that affordable McDonald's coffee had always been their first choice for breakfast, and the discontinuation news left them feeling quite uncomfortable. Meanwhile, McDonald's announced that combo meal drinks would be upgraded to the McCafé series, seen as an important signal of internal brand restructuring. The capital market reacted swiftly as well, with supplier Tsit Wing International's stock price hitting a new low since listing. Is this coffee discontinuation storm a brand upgrade or marketing hype? Opinions vary.

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McDonald's Hong Kong announced recently that it would stop selling coffee products, and as of 6 PM on Monday, McDonald's Hong Kong coffee officially came to an end. After the news broke, a large number of discussions quickly emerged on major social platforms, with many netizens calling it "bad news for the working class."

The products removed this time cover two categories: Rich Aroma Coffee and Freshly Ground Coffee. Many consumers noted that McDonald's affordably priced freshly ground coffee was a key reason they chose the store for breakfast, and many Hong Kong residents admitted they "find it hard to adjust for the time being." However, some observant netizens noticed that McCafé, another coffee product line under McDonald's, did not appear on the discontinuation list, so many regarded it as "the working class's last remaining hope for McDonald's."

Some also believe that the exit of McDonald's coffee may be paving the way for McCafé. That same evening, McDonald's announced via its official Facebook account that McDonald's coffee at 250 stores in Hong Kong would, starting September 5, upgrade combo meals to McCafé freshly ground black coffee for free.

Although not all McDonald's stores currently have a McCafé counter, McDonald's Hong Kong plans to fully upgrade combo meal drinks to the McCafé series within this month, covering freshly ground black coffee and freshly ground milk coffee. This is seen as a major internal organizational restructuring at McDonald's and also reveals an obvious intention for McCafé to seize share in the Chinese market.

Faced with this sudden coffee discontinuation storm, not only did Hong Kong netizens react strongly, but the capital market also responded quickly. Tsit Wing, a supplier that has cooperated with McDonald's Hong Kong for many years, saw its parent company Tsit Wing International Holdings affected recently, with its stock price falling to the lowest point since listing, touching a low of HK$0.68 during intraday trading today.

Public information shows that Tsit Wing was founded in 1932 and has long supplied ingredients to many food companies such as 7-11, McDonald's, Tsui Wah, and Yoshinoya.

The removal of McDonald's coffee in Hong Kong this time not only sparked heated discussion locally in Hong Kong, but also set off a wave of discussion in mainland China, drawing high attention from official media to ordinary netizens. In terms of热度, regardless of whether the McCafé series can subsequently succeed in exploring a new operating model, this wave of topic effect and discussion level has already constituted a fairly successful brand promotion. Many netizens who saw related reports did indeed begin paying attention to the developments of McDonald's and McCafé, and many also realized that there was a considerable element of marketing hype in it, saying bluntly that this was a successful "disguised promotion."

However, some Hong Kong media also pointed out that although McDonald's move clearly has an element of hype, the final effect may not be as desired. Attracting attention by announcing product discontinuation without fully considering the interests of loyal users and suppliers is not a wise decision with long-term vision.

Regarding the news of McDonald's coffee's "retirement and discontinuation" this time, how do netizens view it?

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