What Kawangka's Milk Tea Price Hikes Mean for Specialty Coffee

Anhui-based milk tea chain K.WangKa has raised prices on several drinks, including red bean milk tea, hand-peeled mandarin orange, and the signature black full set. Longtime customers in Anhui have voiced dissatisfaction on social media, noting that prices climbed year after year while coupons and group-buy deals remained absent. The brand, founded in 2008, built its following on affordable drinks and generous portions.

Red bean milk tea moved from 12 yuan to 14 yuan over a year, hand-peeled mandarin orange rose from 16 to 20 yuan, and the black full set climbed from 8 or 9 yuan to 17 yuan. The increases contrast with an industry-wide price war and have worn down consumer goodwill. Specialty coffee culture offers a parallel: transparent pricing and consistent quality shape how customers judge value over time.

Anhui-based brand K.WangKa, once hailed as the "Haidilao of the milk tea world," has recently come under repeated fire from local netizens after quietly raising prices on several drinks. From red bean milk tea to hand-peeled mandarin orange, and the classic "black full set," prices have climbed year after year, yet coupons and group-buy deals remain conspicuously absent, leaving loyal customers disappointed. Founded in 2008, this affordable tea brand once earned its reputation through generous ingredients and thoughtful service, but now it is bucking the industry's price war by raising prices, wearing down consumers' goodwill and support. This article reviews K.WangKa's price hike history, presents genuine feedback from Anhui residents, and explores the controversy behind the brand's pricing strategy.

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When it comes to well-known domestic chain tea brands, Hunan has Chayan Yuese, and Anhui cannot go without mentioning K.WangKa. Thanks to its excellent drink quality and meticulous in-store service, the brand has been jokingly dubbed the "Haidilao of the milk tea world" by netizens, and is fondly called the "glory of Hefei tea drinks" among local milk tea enthusiasts.

But just in the past two days, this chain brand beloved by Anhui consumers has been bombarded with questions from local netizens on social media: "K.WangKa, what on earth are you trying to do?", "K.WangKa, is your pricing really reasonable?", "K.WangKa, what are you playing at? Why have prices gone up again?"

According to local fans, K.WangKa, established in 2008, started out on an affordable path, with generous drinks priced at around 10 yuan. Even when milk tea prices rose to twenty or thirty yuan a cup, the brand did not follow the trend of significantly raising product prices, earning it a large fan base and many loyal supporters across Anhui.

Recently, however, when users opened the mini-program to place an order, they suddenly discovered that several of their usual drinks had quietly gone up in price. One longtime customer gave an example: red bean milk tea "was only 12 yuan this time last year, 13 this year, now 14"; the popular hand-peeled mandarin orange rose from 16 yuan to 20 yuan; and the signature "black full set" milk tea climbed from its original 8 or 9 yuan all the way to 17 yuan, nearly doubling in price.

If the brand had adjusted prices due to upgraded ingredients or rising operating costs, loyal customers might not have minded so much. But what frustrated long-term supporters was that since K.WangKa opened, "there are never coupons, never group-buys," "there aren't even a few usable coupons across all platforms," and "it's super close to home, yet there's still a several-yuan delivery fee."

They said that without any discounts, K.WangKa has repeatedly and quietly raised drink prices, pushing its pricing beyond what the public expects. Many even bluntly stated that the brand's pattern of raising prices once a year comes across as "putting on airs," and said that ever since discovering K.WangKa's stealth price hikes, they've "stopped drinking it."

In the memories of many locals, K.WangKa was the affordable milk tea shared with friends during their school days, and drinks costing under 10 yuan carried many unforgettable moments. It is precisely because of this nostalgia and the excellent service provided by staff that many locals are willing to keep spending there and voluntarily act as brand ambassadors, enthusiastically recommending it to out-of-town visitors through various channels.

But at a time when tea brands are competing ever more fiercely and prices are getting cheaper, K.WangKa has chosen to "swim against the tide," offering no discounts to attract spending while quietly raising drink prices year after year, so that a cup of milk tea keeps getting more expensive. Local residents admit that the brand's stealth price hikes have truly worn down their affection and nostalgia, making them increasingly disappointed in a local brand they have supported for years.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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