Cotti Coffee Officially Ends Sitewide Unlimited 9.9 Yuan Promotion

Cotti Coffee has ended its unlimited 9.9 yuan promotion, a move that could signal a turning point in the coffee price war. The company will shift to a special-price zone model, where only some products remain at 9.9 yuan, while others return to full price. This change follows a three-year period of heavy discounting that began in February 2023.

The promotion, initially launched by Cotti, prompted competitors like Luckin to offer similar deals, leading to an industry-wide price war. Cotti had previously committed to sustaining the 9.9 yuan pricing until 2026. Now, with the adjustment, consumers, franchisees, and industry observers are closely watching how this will affect the competitive landscape and the future of coffee pricing in China.

Recently, a "Store Price Strategy and Campaign Adjustment Notice" from Cotti Coffee circulating on social platforms has drawn widespread attention. The notice shows that Cotti will end its "9.9 yuan unlimited across the board" campaign at 24:00 on January 31, and from February 1 will shift to a special-price zone model, with only some products continuing the 9.9 yuan unlimited offer, while all other non-special-price products will be sold at retail price. The new-store first-month campaign and the invite-new-customers rewards campaign will also be adjusted accordingly. As the brand that kicked off the 9.9 yuan price war in February 2023, does Cotti's move signal a turning point for the domestic coffee price war? Consumers, franchisees, and industry observers are all watching closely.

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Recently, a "Store Price Strategy and Campaign Adjustment Notice" that appeared on social platforms blew up the coffee community, attracting a great deal of attention and discussion from consumers.

According to the screenshots circulating online, Cotti's "9.9 yuan unlimited across the board" promotion will come to an end at 24:00 late at night on January 31. Starting February 1, Cotti will launch a special-price zone, in which some drinks will still be supplied at 9.9 yuan unlimited, but all products on all platforms that are not part of the special-price campaign will return to retail-price sales. In addition, the notice also mentions that, in order to attract new customers and boost activity, the first-month discount plan for new store openings and the invite-friends rewards campaign will also be changed accordingly.

This news was like dropping a huge rock into a calm lake, leaving many netizens feeling very surprised. After all, the "9.9 yuan promotion" wave in the domestic coffee scene was first ignited by Cotti in February 2023. Shortly afterward, competitor Luckin also announced the launch of 9.9 yuan single-item offers, confronting Cotti head-on, thus kicking off an industry-wide "9.9 price war" that has lasted for years.

Looking through media reports from recent years, Cotti had publicly stated many times that it would stick to the 9.9 yuan pricing path. In 2024, the person in charge of Cotti at the time confirmed to the media that the expected duration of the 9.9 promotion was set at three years, and made clear that official price subsidies for franchisees would continue until the end of 2026.

It is precisely this "9.9 coffee price war" that has lasted three years that has led many people to gradually form a habit of buying affordable coffee through long-term consumption. Drinking a 9.9 yuan cup of coffee every day has already become part of many people's daily lives. And last year's "takeout war," which caused a huge stir, dragged coffee drink prices down another notch, with coffees priced at 3.9 yuan and 4.9 yuan attracting more customers to place orders and constantly refreshing the public's perception of just how cheap a cup of coffee can be.

Therefore, when word spread online that Cotti was going to raise prices across the board and end its three-year "9.9 promotion," most netizens expressed difficulty accepting such a sudden change. Some also began to worry whether Cotti's exit from the "9.9 price war" signals the beginning of a shift away from involution in domestic coffee prices, and whether it will lead other chain brands to adjust their pricing strategies as well.

However, some consumers also pointed out that brands such as Good Me, Lucky Cup, and K Coffee are still pushing 9.9 yuan or even lower-priced coffee products, and Wallace has even used a "9.9 yuan monthly card for 210 cups of coffee" to push the per-cup price down to 5 cents. In the view of these users, if Cotti raises prices across all products and no longer has a price advantage, it may instead push old customers toward promotional alternatives from other brands, and this pricing strategy could cause the brand to lose a large number of loyal users.

In response to the heated rumors, Cotti franchisees and Cotti officials successively confirmed to the media that the content of the circulated price strategy adjustment notice was true and that product prices would indeed change in the near future. A relevant person in charge of Cotti Coffee responded that some products will continue to retain the 9.9 yuan unlimited special price, and that all products will also continue to participate in various subsidy campaigns on takeout platforms. In other words, Cotti's classic products will continue to maintain the 9.9 yuan special price afterward, and for some products, with the stacking of takeout platform discounts, the final price paid may even be lower than 9.9 yuan.

Image source: Internet

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