Why Is Gu Ming's 8-Yuan Fresh Milk Stirring Coffee Culture Talk?

Gu Ming has added a product called Good Morning Fresh Milk to its mini-program, priced at 8 yuan for 500ml and served hot or cold. Its only ingredient is fresh milk, and buyers found it is the same refrigerated milk the chain already uses for tea drinks, with a taste matching what supermarkets and convenience stores sell.

Reaction split sharply. Some called the price uncompetitive and joked the item exists only to meet R&D targets, while others said they would add espresso or toppings at home for a cheap latte. Speculation followed that the brand may be testing the breakfast market, a reminder that shop economics, from menu experiments to how much does it cost to open a coffee shop, keep shaping what gets launched.

Gu Ming has quietly launched a new product called "Good Morning Fresh Milk" on its mini-program. The only ingredient is fresh milk, available hot or cold, priced at 8 yuan per 500ml. After trying it, consumers found that the cup contains exactly the same refrigerated fresh milk used in stores for making tea drinks—brands like Yue Xian Huo, Weigang, and Renyang Yitouniu—and it tastes no different from what's sold in supermarkets or convenience stores. Once the news broke, netizens reacted in two polarized ways: some thought the price was completely uncompetitive, arguing it's better to just buy from a supermarket or convenience store, joking that this is a case of "forcing out a new product with no real idea," with R&D staff cobbling together a new item just to meet KPI targets; others thought they could simply add espresso or toppings themselves to make a low-cost latte. Some netizens even let their imaginations run wild, speculating that Gu Ming is testing the waters for entering the breakfast market. This article will sort through the discussions sparked by this new product and the possible business logic behind it.

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Recently, some users noticed a subtle change in the menu when opening the Gu Ming mini-program. Besides the familiar regular drinks, a new face called "Good Morning Fresh Milk" appeared in the list.

According to the product description on the mini-program, this new item has an extremely simple ingredient list—just fresh milk. Customers can choose iced cold milk or heated warm milk according to personal preference. Consumers who were curious immediately placed orders to try it after it was launched, and the result confirmed that the actual product matched the promotional image—the cup contains exactly the fresh milk that stores normally use for making tea drinks. The taste is no different from the fresh milk sold in convenience store and supermarket refrigerators, with nothing particularly special about it.

Faced with this unexpected new product move by the brand, many netizens immediately thought of the cup of ice water that had previously appeared on the menu. In their eyes, Gu Ming's 1-yuan ice water did, to some extent, cover some people's consumption needs. Judging from current market feedback, this product has also found its audience, and staff members mentioned that people do indeed make special trips to the store to buy it.

This time, however, the 8-yuan cup of fresh milk made onlookers' first reaction become "will anyone actually pay for this?" They pointed out that although Gu Ming stores use common refrigerated fresh milk brands available on the market like Yue Xian Huo, Weigang, and Renyang Yitouniu, spending 8 yuan on a cup of about 500ml of milk feels like "worse than going to a 24-hour convenience store," "might as well buy a can of Blue Fatty and mix it yourself," or "isn't it better to just buy a bottle from the supermarket?"

Netizens who frequently buy milk bluntly stated that bottled milk prices currently vary widely, but in the 8-yuan price range, consumers actually have quite a lot of fresh milk options to choose from. If they catch a supermarket promotion, the value of fresh milk bought for 8 yuan might far exceed that of Gu Ming's cup of Good Morning Fresh Milk.

For this reason, many netizens concluded that this product has no price advantage compared to bottled milk on convenience store shelves. Those with milk consumption needs were even more candid, saying they would rather buy cost-effective bottled milk and would not consider this cup of Good Morning Fresh Milk.

They don't quite understand the brand's intention in launching this new product, sharply commenting that Gu Ming putting fresh milk on the menu is "forcing out a product with no real idea." Others left joking comments speculating that perhaps the R&D staff hit a creative bottleneck and, in order to meet their KPI assessment, thought of putting pure milk with water as a new product—at least adding one more option to the menu.

In addition, some netizens with particularly creative minds connected Gu Ming's recent launches of unexpected products like ice water and lemonade, boldly predicting that after cold milk, the brand might also launch cold soy milk. This series of moves might be the company's groundwork for entering the breakfast market—"Is the next step going to be soy milk?" "I feel like they're about to enter the breakfast market—isn't there also something about testing the waters with light meals?"

Although most users mainly complained after learning about the new product, some felt that Gu Ming's move was not entirely meaningless. In their view, customers can add espresso or brown sugar boba and other milk tea toppings to the fresh milk they buy, thus getting a latte or tea drink at extremely low cost while also enjoying the fun of making their own beverage. If paired with Front Street Coffee's espresso concentrate, it can further enhance the flavor layers and make full use of this cup of fresh milk.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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