How Does the Luckin vs Cotti Coffee War Shape the Dirty Latte vs Iced Latte Menu?
The Luckin and Cotti rivalry returned to Weibo's trending list, staying there more than nine hours with reads above 16.59 million. The two chains compete on store locations and pricing, with coupons of 9.9 yuan and 8.8 yuan drawing most consumer attention. Cotti's founding team includes Luckin's original founder, and banners outside its stores invite customers in at 8.8 yuan.
Industry observers note the two are not evenly matched, and Cotti appears to be chasing Luckin's pace. Luckin operates more than 10,000 stores and leans on hits such as Coconut Latte and its sauce-flavored series. The war has also pushed new product development, with drink formats like dirty latte vs iced latte and dirty coffee vs iced latte becoming talking points. Whether the price war can continue, and what a truce would bring, remains open.
The competition between Luckin and Cotti has once again become a hot topic on Weibo, staying on the trending list for over nine hours with reads exceeding 16.59 million. The two brands have been going head-to-head from store locations to product pricing, with discount coupons of 9.9 yuan and 8.8 yuan becoming the focus of consumer attention. However, industry observers point out that the two are not evenly matched, and Cotti seems more like it is chasing Luckin's pace. Behind this commercial war, consumers' pursuit of value for money is the core, and whether the price war can continue, and what impact a truce would bring, have become issues worth watching.
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The day before yesterday, the topic "Luckin and Cotti's commercial war" surged to fourth place on Weibo's hot search list, staying on the list for more than nine hours, with cumulative reads exceeding 16.59 million and interactions also reaching more than 11,000.
The "love-hate relationship" between these two brands has lasted for quite a long time. Their store locations are often right next to each other, and their prices have been chasing each other downward—Luckin sells at 9.9 yuan, so Cotti cuts to 8.8 yuan; from the sauce-flavored series to rice coffee products, recent new product collaborations have also formed a rivalry. Cotti's founding team, also the original founder of Luckin, even hung banners outside each store saying "Luckin founder invites you to drink coffee for 8.8 yuan." On social platforms, netizens have been posting photos and joking that "the most high-end commercial wars often adopt the most plain methods," while others lamented that this is a "war without smoke."
Facing the price war, many netizens took a spectator's attitude and were happy to see it: "You two fight it out, just don't let the 9.9 and 8.8 coupons disappear." "Their commercial war benefits us." "Cotti and Luckin are fighting so hard that even KFC's coffee has dropped in price. I hope there will be more commercial wars like this."
Although the two brands often play along with memes together and posture as if only one can survive, the industry generally believes that their strengths are not on the same level. Luckin has more than 10,000 stores and is already a top player in the coffee world. With just two products, Coconut Latte and Sauce-Flavor Latte, it is enough to bring it close to its goal of being the "big brother of domestic coffee." As for Cotti, apart from its low-price strategy, it has recently had few truly breakout hit products besides rice coffee.
Therefore, rather than saying the two are fighting head-on, it is more accurate to say that Cotti, as a rising challenger, has been trying hard to "provoke" and catch up with the big brother. Some netizens revealed: "At the time, I wanted to join Cotti and showed them a location. They said there had to be a Luckin within 500 meters nearby." No wonder netizens joked: "Luckin does market research to open new stores, while Cotti does Luckin research."
Industry insiders analyze that consumers in lower-tier markets have never belonged as fans to any brand, and rarely take sides when it comes to "low-price coffee." Their fondness for Luckin mostly comes from the high-quality bargain of 9.9 yuan a cup; their fondness for Cotti comes from it being the most suitable "budget Luckin." In the end, only the pursuit of value for money is eternal.
It is worth noting that as the "commercial war" continues to escalate, consumers are beginning to worry that the "coffee price war" will not last long. There is a rumor online: "Internal news! Luckin's 9.9 yuan offer will be removed on September 17." With only two days left until that date, whether it is true or false will be known then.
To a large extent, Luckin, Cotti, and other low-price coffees are tied together. Once one side withdraws from the "price war," the cost for consumers to buy coffee will inevitably rise again, and their willingness to buy will also decline noticeably. What huge impact will that bring to the coffee industry at that time, and where will China's rapidly expanding coffee market go?
I'm afraid it will not be a good sign.
Image source: Internet
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
