Why the Luckin Coffee Butter Latte Recipe Backfired

Luckin Coffee released a second Butter Bear collaboration with a reformulated Little Butter Latte, swapping New Zealand anhydrous butter for French Président butter. The official claim is a richer, more fragrant taste. After tasting, reviews split: some find it lighter, while many say it tastes sweeter or identical to the old version. Employees say the recipe itself did not change, only the packaging.

The dispute matters because it questions whether Luckin Coffee's collaboration strategy is reheating old ideas rather than delivering real product change. The original Little Butter series came from the first Butter Bear tie-up, which built a large fan base. Using a recognizable imported butter name raises expectations, so when most drinkers notice no difference, trust in future limited-edition launches can weaken.

Luckin Coffee recently launched its second collaboration with the popular Thai IP Butter Bear, simultaneously releasing a formula-upgraded Little Butter series. The official claim is that the new version replaces the raw material from New Zealand anhydrous butter with French Président butter, resulting in a richer and more fragrant taste. However, consumer feedback after actual testing has been polarized: some believe it is indeed more refreshing, while more people say they can't taste any difference, and some even question whether it is sweeter. Multiple Luckin employees have revealed that the ingredient formula hasn't changed at all—only the packaging has been updated. This "upgrade" controversy has disappointed fans and raised questions about whether Luckin's collaboration strategy has fallen into the trap of reheating old ideas.

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Recently, Luckin Coffee officially announced its second collaboration with the hugely popular Thai star Butter Bear. Along with this collaboration event, the formula-adjusted Little Butter series has returned to consumers' view.

According to the official statement, compared with the originally launched Little Butter series, the new version has upgraded its ingredients, replacing the previously used imported New Zealand anhydrous butter with the more widely recognized imported French Président butter. The official claim is that this makes the drink's taste richer and more fragrant.

After learning that their beloved Little Butter series had been upgraded, many fans immediately placed orders, intending to compare the flavor differences between the officially improved Butter Latte and the old version. However, after tasting this "new · Little Butter Latte," their reviews were mixed.

Some consumers felt that the new version was indeed as officially advertised—less greasy and full of aroma—but others thought the new formula Little Butter Latte was sweeter and hard to accept. Most people, after trying it, said this Butter Latte only evoked memories of the past, with no noticeable change in taste: "Drank it and felt like it didn't change," "Exactly the same as before, no difference," "Just drank it today, can't taste any difference."

As a result, some customers who couldn't taste the difference began to suspect that Luckin staff hadn't made it according to the new formula, but the workers who inexplicably took the blame cried foul. They said the real reason most people feel the new Butter Latte tastes unchanged is that the formula was never changed at all.

"Employee tells you, even the supplier wasn't changed," "The ingredients are the same as before," "The formula didn't change, exactly the same as before…," "No change, don't believe it, Luckin person here, that's still the old Little Butter," "No upgrade, still using the old butter… it's just that the packaging changed this time," "Still don't know what was upgraded, the goods arriving at the store are all the same."

Some workers revealed that while some consumers currently report differences in taste from the old version—such as sweeter, greasier, or lighter—as the actual makers of the drinks, they haven't found any changes in the official new formula. The butter velvet flavor milk used to adjust the drink's taste also comes from the same supplier as the old version. Therefore, in their view, the new version of the Little Butter Latte should be considered a "product upgrade that changes the soup but not the medicine."

This explanation from the staff disappointed fans full of expectations and also made some people think "Luckin has run out of ideas." Users following Luckin's collaboration events pointed out that the brand's two recent new campaigns were both re-collaborations with IPs it had worked with before. The limited-edition drinks included both new items and "white moonlight returns," but even amid fans' joy, they still felt these two collaborations lacked eye-catching novelty.

As is well known, collaborating with popular IPs has always been a major weapon in Luckin's marketing planning, but the collaboration events after the Spring Festival didn't generate much discussion online and failed to spark the purchasing enthusiasm of loyal users, leading some to speculate that Luckin "couldn't sign new IPs so it started reheating old ideas."

However, fans who still have expectations for Luckin believe the brand might be preparing a big move, and collaboration news with certain popular IPs may come later. Whether this idea is correct will only be confirmed after the Butter Bear collaboration event ends.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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