What Does the Cotti Coffee Store Model Mean for Quality?

Cotti Coffee has placed shops inside soup dumpling shops, Lawson convenience stores, service halls, noodle shops, pet hospitals and even skateboard shops, claiming a coffee store can open in just one square meter. The chain plans to reach 8,000 convenience-format outlets in the second half of the year, but the model has prompted consumer concern over hygiene and product quality control.

A customer who followed a navigation app to a nearby Cotti found the shop operating inside a bun shop with only a single service window. As the brand pushes for a location within a hundred meters of customers, balancing convenience with food safety and consistent coffee machines becomes the pressing issue for this expansion.

Recently, a netizen used a mobile navigation app to find a Cotti Coffee store, only to be surprised upon arrival to discover that the coffee shop was actually operating inside a soup dumpling shop. The netizen's post quickly resonated with consumers across the country, who eagerly shared their own encounters with Cotti stores in Lawson convenience stores, service halls, noodle shops, pet hospitals, and even skateboard shops. Since launching its convenient store model in May this year, Cotti has claimed that "a coffee shop can be opened in just 1 square meter" and plans to expand to 8,000 convenient stores in the second half of the year, penetrating into all kinds of small and micro commercial scenarios with an aggressive expansion posture. However, while the brand accelerates its layout in pursuit of having "a Cotti within a hundred meters," consumers have raised serious concerns about the hygiene conditions, product quality control, and food safety risks of this store-within-a-store model. Front Street Coffee is also paying attention to this industry phenomenon, believing that balancing convenience and quality will be an urgent issue for Cotti to address.

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Recently, a netizen wanted to buy a cup of coffee and opened their mobile navigation to search for a nearby Cotti Coffee store. They followed the navigation all the way, and when they arrived near the destination and looked up, what they saw startled them.

Judging from the signage, this Cotti should be right next to a soup dumpling shop, and the storefront had only a single service window. When customers walked up to the window, they discovered that this coffee shop was actually operating inside the bun shop. Customers entering the store could buy a soup dumpling to fill their stomachs, and also walk up to the counter to order a cup of coffee to quench their thirst, taking care of breakfast all at once.

Cotti's store-within-a-store model struck this netizen as both surprising and amusing. However, in the comments section of the post, netizens from all over shared various unexpected Cotti stores they had seen.

Lawson convenience store isn't selling its own coffee anymore, but Cotti's instead?!

Drinking a cup of coffee while slowly handling business at a service hall is no longer a dream

It's just that this Cotti's sign is too small, and you might walk right past it without noticing

Maybe you can get a bowl of ramen with a coffee broth?

What goes well with lobster — besides beer, there's also iced Americano

That flavor... somewhat similar yet not quite harmonious

Skateboarding + coffee, take off after drinking?

In addition to the above, people from various places also said they had seen Cotti's eye-catching red-and-white sign in bookstores, internet cafes, print shops, barbershops, laundromats, administrative centers, real estate agencies, pet hospitals, and other places, remarking that the brand truly "gets into every crevice," "dares to open anywhere," and "feels like Cotti could squeeze into a crack in the floor and open a store."

In May this year, Cotti launched its convenient store model, promoting that "a coffee shop can be opened in just 1 square meter." Two months ago, the brand announced it would open 8,000 convenient stores in the second half of the year, intending to make Cotti visible everywhere. Now, vibrant red-and-white logos can be seen in all kinds of casual small storefronts along streets and alleys, which is enough to show that Cotti is vigorously promoting the store-within-a-store model, accelerating its store layout, and seizing the market.

However, at the same time, many consumers have serious concerns about the hygiene issues of these coffee shops in small corners.

A netizen who discovered that Cotti had opened inside a pet hospital also noticed that floating pet hair was visible everywhere in the store, saying bluntly that drinks made in such an environment made people uneasy, and most consumers would not want to drink a cup of coffee with dog hair in it.

Customers said bluntly that when they saw machinery, equipment, and raw materials piled up in corners, and a staff member could knock over milk on the counter just by turning around to grab a takeaway cup, they could not help but feel seriously uneasy about the drinks being made.

In addition, some of the people operating the coffee machines in convenient stores have not received professional training, and some are not even food service workers. The coffee they make varies in quality control, and these drinks may carry food safety risks.

As netizens have said, Cotti's store-within-a-store model brings convenience to consumers, allowing them to buy a cup of coffee in breakfast shops, convenience stores, and other places, while also adding extra revenue to some small shops and boosting their original business.

On the other hand, however, consumers cannot ignore the issues of store hygiene and product quality control in these coffee "hole-in-the-wall" outlets. Many said bluntly that while the brand accelerates store openings to achieve the goal of having "a Cotti within a hundred meters," it should pay more attention to the food safety issues of convenient stores so that users can consume with confidence. Front Street Coffee believes that when chain brands pursue scale expansion, they must hold the bottom line of quality and safety; otherwise, convenience will ultimately become a burden.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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