Why is Luckin Coffee entering the Taiwan market now?
Luckin Coffee appears set to open its first store in Taiwan through local agent Shunyu Holdings, which states on its website that the first outlet is expected to open in December 2025. Renovation permits, recruitment notices and opening posters at a Taipei site carry Luckin's design style, though the brand name and reindeer logo are absent.
Luckin filed Taiwan trademark applications as early as 2019, and local authorities have since received about 30 applications covering the Chinese and English names. Observers read the agency arrangement as a way to follow Starbucks into the market. Consumer reaction is split, and calls to the recruitment contact went unanswered, so the opening remains unconfirmed.
Recently, a coffee shop under renovation in Taipei, Taiwan Province, China, has attracted widespread attention, with multiple clues pointing to the possibility that the chain brand Luckin may be opening its first store in Taiwan there. The recruitment notice, renovation permit, and opening preview poster posted on the construction hoarding all reveal a design style highly similar to Luckin. The website of the agent, Shunyu Holdings, even directly announces that "the first store is expected to open in December 2025." Although Luckin applied for a trademark as early as 2019, this move is interpreted by outsiders as imitating Starbucks by entering Taiwan through an agency model. Facing fierce competition in the local coffee market, consumer attitudes are divided, and when reporters called the contact number on the recruitment notice, no one answered, leaving the store opening plan still uncertain.
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Recently, a netizen posted on a social platform pointing out that a coffee shop still under construction in Taipei, Taiwan Province, China, is very likely the first store opened in Taiwan by the chain coffee brand Luckin.
From photos circulating online, this coffee shop under renovation has three notices posted at its entrance. The first is a blue-and-white "Talent Recruitment Notice," listing complete salary and benefits from barista to store manager; the second is an "Interior Renovation Construction Permit" posted on a gray wall, with the applicant listed as "Shunyu Holdings Co., Ltd."; the third is a simple dark blue poster that reads "Grand Opening Soon, Please Stay Tuned."
Although the word "Luckin" cannot be found on these notices, nor is there the familiar reindeer logo, details such as the poster's design style and copy color scheme still invite much speculation. Moreover, Shunyu, the suspected agent, directly placed Luckin Coffee's English logo and graphic on its official website menu and announced that "the first store is expected to open in December 2025," which further sparked widespread public attention to Luckin's entry into Taiwan's coffee market.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, in April this year the local authorities in Taiwan had already received a total of 30 trademark applications for the Chinese "瑞幸咖啡," the English "luckin coffee," and the trademark design, designated for use on coffee-related goods and services. The approval decision document was issued on September 25.
It is understood that this is not Luckin's first trademark application in Taiwan; it first applied as early as 2019. However, because local regulations stipulate that a trademark will be revoked if not used within three years of application, outsiders viewed Luckin's trademark application that year as possibly just a routine business move to prevent preemptive registration and trademark disputes.
It was not until recently, when Shunyu posted Luckin's recruitment notice on a job website, combined with various signs such as the coffee shop under construction, that people from all walks of life turned their attention to Luckin and speculated that it might follow Starbucks' approach by operating Taiwan stores and managing related affairs through an agent.
At the same time, this news sparked heated discussion on local social platforms. After all, competition in Taiwan's coffee market has always been fierce. In addition to well-known chain brands such as Starbucks and local chain brand Louisa, there are countless small and medium-sized coffee brands, coffee services provided by 7-Eleven convenience stores, and community coffee shops tucked away in streets and alleys.
In random street interviews by the media, local coffee consumers mostly took a wait-and-see attitude toward Luckin's entry, saying bluntly that they have many coffee shops to choose from and may not necessarily become Luckin customers. But some also said that if Luckin Coffee offers better value for money than similar products on the market, they might consider buying it: "If it's cheaper, I'd drink it, because coffee feels too expensive at Starbucks now."
However, when local reporters called the contact number on the recruitment notice to learn more about Luckin's store opening situation, they found that no one answered, so it cannot be confirmed whether Luckin Coffee will open stores in Taiwan or the specific opening time of the coffee shop under renovation.
Image source: Internet
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
