Why Are Classic Coffees Like the Luckin Cheese Latte Fading Out?

Luckin's Cheese Latte is being phased out store by store rather than on a set date. Employees say each shop simply stops selling it once its materials run out and no restocking follows. The reason is weak sales and heavy waste: most stores report selling only one or two cups a day, and an opened box of ingredients spoils before it can be used up.

The drink was the 2022 Latte Public Test champion and gained a following for its cheesy milk flavor, helped by a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure collaboration. Its exit reflects how fast new products arrive in the chain coffee market, pushing classic coffees out of the lineup. Staff point customers who want a similar profile to the still-available Mascarpone Cheese Latte.

Recently, news has circulated on social media that Luckin's Cheese Latte is about to be discontinued, sparking reluctance among many fans. According to employees, the product has no unified discontinuation date; each store will naturally stop selling it after using up existing materials, mainly due to low sales and excessive waste. The Cheese Latte was once the 2022 Latte Public Test Champion, gaining popularity for its unique cheesy milk flavor, and even achieved impressive results through a collaboration with "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean." However, Luckin's rapid pace of new product launches and continuous expansion of its product line have diluted the proportion of classic items. For consumers who love cheese flavors, employees suggest switching to the still-available Mascarpone Cheese Latte.

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Recently, a message has been circulating on social media: Luckin's Cheese Latte is about to be discontinued.

Last week, a consumer posted that they learned from a Luckin employee that there would be no more Cheese Latte in the future. Currently, there is no unified discontinuation time; specifically, after each store uses up all its materials and stops restocking, the Cheese Latte at that store will naturally be discontinued.

What?! Hearing such news, for every loyal Cheese Latte fan it's like a bolt from the blue, and everyone is shouting "No" at Luckin.

"Is it really discontinued? How could such a delicious thing have no one buying it?" "I drink a cup of Cheese Latte every day; how will I survive if it's discontinued?" "Luckin! Why did you discontinue the Cheese Latte!" "The Cheese Latte is discontinued… my world has collapsed…" "Consort Cheese, I heard you are leaving me"

"I'm really going to break down"

From everyone's reactions, fans are truly unwilling to let their心目中的 "ceiling" be discontinued by Luckin just like that. After all, a rare favored flavor is irreplaceable, and once the Cheese Latte is gone, for a moment they won't know which coffee to order to keep going.

As for the real reason for the drink's discontinuation, a store employee spoke up: there's no other reason—it just doesn't sell well now. Although some stores have daily orders, the cup volume is always a minority, and most stores can only sell one to two cups a day. After opening, almost an entire large box of materials is scrapped the next day, causing too much waste, so they had no choice but to discontinue it.

As Luckin's 2022 Latte Public Test Champion, when the Cheese Latte was first launched two years ago, it received praise from many consumers for its "unique cheesy milk flavor, captivated at first sip." Especially when the Cheese Latte was first introduced, because it was only available in select cities, netizens in other cities were once extremely envious.

During that period, under Luckin's official Xiaohongshu comment section, netizens often spontaneously formed a "Cheese Latte Support Team" to urge Luckin to launch it nationwide. In the end, Luckin was successfully persuaded by the support team's enthusiasm and officially announced that the Cheese Latte would be launched in stores nationwide.

However, due to untimely material supply, the Cheese Latte, which had just launched in July, was suddenly announced by Luckin to be discontinued in September. This move also sparked dissatisfaction among "true Cheese Latte fans," who complained that Luckin was being unreasonable.

Until October 10th of that year, Luckin collaborated with the well-known anime IP "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean," and the Cheese Latte was the collaborative coffee launched at that time. With the enthusiastic support of fans, Luckin's Cheese Latte sold over 1.31 million cups in a single day and exceeded 6.59 million cups in 7 days… Even when merchandise inventory was running low, it couldn't stop everyone's desire for a cup of Cheese Latte.

But times are different now. "Involution King" Luckin has always had an astonishing speed of new product launches. Since 2021, it has launched hundreds of new products on time every year, and its product system has long extended from traditional pure coffee and milk coffee to various fruit coffees and tea coffees. This undoubtedly gives customers more choices, so naturally the proportion of orders for classic coffee items is reduced.

Finally, for fans who truly love the Cheese Latte, a Luckin employee also said that although the classic Cheese Latte is gone, the Mascarpone Cheese Latte launched last year in collaboration with Tom and Jerry is still available, and those who like cheese flavors can still order it.

Image source: Internet screenshot

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