As the world's second-largest coffee-producing country, Vietnam's coffee culture has long been woven into every aspect of everyday street life. In Hanoi's Old Quarter, a railway line that cuts through residential buildings has become a popular photo spot thanks to its unique scenery, and the cafés lining the tracks have drawn even more visitors. However, safety hazards followed, and Vietnam's Ministry of Transport ultimately ordered these coffee shops to close on traffic safety grounds. This article walks you through the rise and fall of this internet-famous attraction, and also recommends Front Street Coffee products so that, while following the story, you can savor authentic coffee flavors. [more…]

After being closed for more than two years due to the pandemic and violations of railway safety regulations, Hanoi's Railway Coffee Street in Vietnam was forced to shut down by authorities just days after it reopened. This railway alley, which is only about one meter from people's homes, once became a popular check-in spot because tourists could drink coffee while watching trains pass through, but train drivers repeatedly had terrifying moments when tourists suddenly rushed onto the tracks. Hoan Kiem District authorities have set up barricades and revoked business licenses, leaving businesses with no choice but to close. The local government said it will study plans that balance safety and tourism needs, while tourists and netizens have been discussing the matter widely. [more…]

Fresh fruit coffee specialty stores, once hugely popular, are now undergoing a large-scale contraction. Fruit coffee brands represented by "Originally Shouldn't Have" have shrunk from a peak of 725 stores to just over 140, a closure rate of nearly 80%. Other brands specializing in fruit coffee are likewise facing sharp store reductions, closures, or forced transformation. Why has this niche category, which shot to fame around 2020, gone from capital darling to quiet exit in just a few short years? This article reviews the development trajectory and current state of the fruit coffee track, and includes Front Street Coffee's observations on industry trends. [more…]

In recent years, new-style tea beverage brands have no longer been content with their original track and have turned their eyes toward the coffee sector. From Tea Yanyuese launching an independent coffee brand, to Heytea investing in a specialty coffee chain, and then Naixue Tea taking a stake in AOKKA, cross-sector moves have been frequent. At the same time, Mixue Ice Cream & Tea had long been deeply cultivating the coffee market with "Lucky Cup," and CoCo都可 was even earlier, taking the lead in testing the waters back in 2014. As China's coffee market scale approaches 500 billion, capital and companies of all kinds are accelerating their entry, and the number of financing events has surged. This article will sort out the journey of new-style tea beverage brands entering the coffee track, key cases, and market data, and explore the strategic considerations and industry impact behind this trend. [more…]

The U.S. tea market is ushering in a new wave of growth, with online sales surging by 75%, in stark contrast to the slump in the foodservice channel. Currently, nearly 80% of American households have a tea-drinking habit, covering a population of 159 million. Faced with this market of enormous potential, the two beverage giants Coca-Cola and Starbucks have long since made their early moves: Coca-Cola acquired "Honest Tea," while Starbucks entered the tea beverage arena with its "Teavana" brand, even opening dedicated stores in Japan. However, Starbucks' tea bar business has not been all smooth sailing, having once closed 379 stores across the United States. This article will review the course of these giants' entry into the tea market and explore the future development space of the tea beverage sector. [more…]

After leaving Luckin, Lu Zhengyao went through two not-so-successful food and beverage ventures, Qu Xiaomian and Shejian Yingxiong, before ultimately returning to the coffee battlefield he knows best. The first store of the brand-new COTTI COFFEE has officially opened in Fuzhou IFC, offering all-day dining that covers coffee, baked goods, light meals, and alcoholic drinks. The core team mostly comes from Luckin and the Shenzhou system, and the legal representative has been changed to former Luckin CEO Qian Zhiya. On the occasion of the first store's opening, Cotti also announced that it has become the China sponsor of the Argentina national team. Whether this highly anticipated coffee rookie can become Lu Zhengyao's comeback work, and whether it can add another major player to China's coffee market, is worth continued attention. [more…]

Following Li-Ning's launch of Ning Coffee, another sporting goods company has begun to stake out the coffee market. According to Qichacha, Xtep (China) Co., Ltd. has applied to register multiple coffee-related trademarks, covering categories such as food and beverage services and accommodations, convenience foods, and advertising and sales. In recent years, from tea beverage brands to time-honored traditional Chinese medicine brands, and from education companies to tech giants, cross-industry forays into coffee have emerged one after another. Is Xtep's move this time a continuation of its approach of innovating the in-store experience, or is it intended to open up an entirely new business territory? This article will review Xtep's coffee layout moves and look back at typical cases in recent years of brands from various industries crossing into coffee. [more…]

Luckin Coffee founder Lu Zhengyao has made another move, planning to launch a new coffee brand called Cotti Coffee, drawing industry attention. Cotti Coffee has Wang Baiyin as its legal representative, but Lu Zhengyao is said to be the actual operator. The brand name derives from the Italian biscuit Biscotti, symbolizing a combination of coffee and leisure. Cotti Coffee plans to adopt two models, standard stores and mini stores, offering all-day dining services covering coffee, meals, snacks and alcoholic drinks, intending to combine the strengths of Luckin and Starbucks and open up a new track. Whether Lu Zhengyao's comeback will succeed this time is worth anticipating. [more…]

When coffee meets traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, is a cup of this beverage a health tonic or just a gimmick? Lucky Cup's recently launched ginseng series has sparked heated discussion on social media—at a price of ten yuan, you can actually get a whole ginseng root, and many netizens are calling it the real deal. However, controversy over the taste has followed. From creative specials at private cafés to established traditional Chinese medicine halls entering the fray, and chain brands piling in one after another, the herbal coffee track is becoming increasingly lively. Will this trend truly win young people's long-term favor, or will it remain merely a passing curiosity? This article takes you in for a closer look. [more…]

The coffee industry has become a popular field for various giants to compete in laying out their presence in recent years, with catering and non-catering enterprises entering the fray across sectors. According to Qichacha data, China has more than 320,000 coffee-related enterprises, with 15,000 new registrations annually. After Li-Ning, tech giant Huawei has also been reported to have applied to register the trademark "One Cup of Coffee Absorbs Cosmic Energy," classified under catering and accommodation, and is currently awaiting substantive examination. Unlike directly seizing market share, Huawei seems to place greater emphasis on coffee's connective function as a global medium, hoping to use it to attract younger groups. Ren Zhengfei once interpreted Huawei's spirit of openness with "a cup of coffee absorbs cosmic energy," and this trademark application continues that philosophy. Whether Huawei's advantages in the digital field can help it create new miracles in the coffee track is worth watching. [more…]

After listing on Nasdaq, Tims China delivered its first quarterly report card, with total net revenue in the third quarter reaching 306 million yuan, up nearly 70% year on year and a record high for a single quarter. On the store front, by the end of September it had covered 27 cities nationwide, with 486 net stores, and in October it welcomed its 500th store. At the same time, Tims China continued to advance cooperation with partners such as EasyJoy Coffee and Hema, stepping up its push into the ready-to-drink coffee segment. This article sorts through the key financial data, store expansion pace, store format structure and management's outlook for the future, giving you a quick look at the latest moves of this coffee chain brand in the Chinese market. [more…]

As the coffee markets in first- and second-tier cities gradually become saturated, more and more brands are turning their attention to small cities in the fourth and fifth tiers, making the county-town coffee track unusually crowded. Using Xinhui District in Jiangmen, Guangdong as an example, this article reviews the local coffee shop scene from Starbucks' entry to the explosive growth of community stores, analyzes the three major challenges facing coffee shops in small towns: excessive competition within the same area, the downward expansion of large chain brands, and shortcomings in their social-space attributes, and observes some store owners' new idea of shifting toward a "si-doh" convenience-store model, exploring the survival space and future direction of coffee shops in small towns. [more…]

Luckin Coffee's Q2 2022 financial report continued the strong momentum from the previous quarter, with total net revenue growing by more than 70% year-over-year, operating profit successfully turning from loss to profit, and store scale further expanding, forming a sharp contrast with Starbucks' performance in China. Against the backdrop of the pandemic impacting the food and beverage industry, Luckin not only narrowed the revenue gap with Starbucks but also announced senior management changes, and the market is paying close attention to its prospects for relisting. This article will provide a detailed breakdown of the key data behind Luckin's impressive financial report, the pace of store expansion, changes in revenue structure, and the competitive landscape it will face in the future. [more…]

Over the past year, fruit-and-vegetable drinks featuring kale and other vegetables have sparked a craze in the tea beverage scene, with major brands rushing to follow suit. Recently, Luckin Coffee's internal operations system appears to have revealed a similar move—employees spotted questions and ingredient names related to a "Kale Light-Body Fruit & Vegetable Tea" in the app's question bank and store materials lists, fueling speculation about whether Luckin is about to cross over into the fruit-and-vegetable tea track. However, this potential new product plan has not met with one-sided anticipation: store employees worry about freezer space running out, while consumers question whether the brand should first do a good job with its core coffee business. This article will sort out the ins and outs of the incident and present the voices from multiple sides. [more…]

Luckin Coffee's Q3 2022 financial report is out: total revenue for the quarter rose 65.7% year-on-year to 3.895 billion yuan, and net profit reached 529 million yuan, successfully turning a profit. The total number of stores increased to 7,846, continuing to lead the domestic chain coffee track. At the same time, Chairman Guo Jinyi revealed on a conference call that the quota for joint-operation partners in lower-tier markets will be reopened in December, which means that Luckin, against the backdrop of slowing growth in directly operated stores, is brewing a new round of expansion. Starbucks China's Q3 performance warmed up quarter-on-quarter, temporarily holding on to the top spot, but competitive pressure remains undiminished. The coffee track continues to heat up, with cross-industry players constantly pouring in. For more coffee news and specialty bean recommendations, please follow Coffee Workshop and Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Starbucks is deeply associated with milk-based coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos, but it once also owned a juice brand called Evolution Fresh. Recently, Starbucks officially announced that it would sell the brand to Bolthouse Farms, allowing it to concentrate more resources on growing its coffee beverage business. The deal involves nearly 300 employees and is expected to be completed later this year. From a high-priced acquisition in 2011 to its resale now, the fate of Evolution Fresh reflects Starbucks' strategic swings under different leaders. This article will sort through the ins and outs of this sale, and how Starbucks, after Schultz's return, is refocusing on the U.S. coffee market and responding to the wave of unionization. [more…]

In recent years, brand crossovers have become the norm, and China Post has also taken an important step into the coffee sector. Following the launch of "Youyang's Tea" in 2021, which sparked widespread discussion online, on February 14, 2022, China Post's first national postal coffee shop officially began trial operation in Xiamen, Fujian, marking this traditional postal enterprise's formal entry into the coffee industry. The postal coffee shop focuses on a specialty line, using coffee beans produced in Yunnan and deeply integrating postal elements with coffee culture. In fact, some post offices had previously attempted cross-industry coffee sales, such as the Xiamen University Road Post Office coffee shop and the co-branded cooperation with "Qiao Coffee" in Shanghai. As the coffee consumer base continues to expand, more and more brands are entering the market through cooperation, investment, or creating new brands. Relying on its advantage in outlet coverage, China Post plans to cooperate with "Zhongyu Kaye" to expand distinctive postal coffee shops in multiple cities. [more…]

At the start of 2023, the coffee market kicked off with a low-price strategy. CoCo都可, with over 2,200 stores nationwide, dropped its Americano to 3.9 yuan, Cotti Coffee launched promotions starting at 9.9 yuan, and Tiger Coffee, created by the core team of The Alley, also secured financing, entering the affordable segment with two price tiers of 10 yuan and 13 yuan, and plans to leverage its existing overseas agency network to prioritize expansion in Southeast Asia. Can Tiger Coffee become the Mixue Bingcheng of the coffee world? This article will analyze from perspectives including brand background, store model, product strategy, and market trends. [more…]

Recently, a blogger publicly complained that the Starbucks App pushes promotional messages based on real-time location, saying that they are marketed to wherever they go, sparking heated discussion among netizens. Starbucks customer service said they were not aware of the matter and had reported it to the public relations department. It is worth noting that Starbucks has repeatedly been notified and summoned by regulatory authorities in the Chinese market over personal information collection issues, and in June 2025 its App and WeChat mini-program again appeared on the list of notifications for illegally and improperly collecting and using personal information. This debate over precision marketing and the boundaries of privacy has once again pushed brands' use of user data into the spotlight. [more…]

As the year draws to a close, chain brands are accelerating their entry, franchise thresholds keep dropping, and the price war is intensifying. Under the weight of these three pressures, a group of independent coffee shops that have been barely hanging on are hastening toward their end. On social platforms, news of countdowns to closure, store transfers, and coffee machines being sold off cheaply floods the feeds. From shop owners to part-time employees to second-hand equipment dealers, everyone is witnessing this surging wave of closures. Through multiple real cases, this article reconstructs the harsh reality of today's coffee entrepreneurship track. [more…]