Recently, news that two HEYTEA stores at JD.com's Beijing headquarters suddenly closed has continued to spread on social media, while an internal notice in circulation showed that JD.com prohibited cooperation with HEYTEA and restricted its products from entering office areas. The incident quickly sparked widespread speculation about the relationship between HEYTEA and JD.com. Some linked it to HEYTEA's delayed entry onto JD.com's food delivery platform, while others dug up old news of HEYTEA publicly boycotting food delivery. JD.com insiders later denied the rumors, and the stores resumed operations, with the closure explained as temporary water and electricity maintenance. This confusing business battle reflects the delicate positioning of tea beverage brands among third-party food delivery platforms. [more…]

Recently, a dedicated section named "Coffee & Milk Tea" quietly appeared in the "Instant Delivery" area of the JD APP, promoting "9.9 yuan with free shipping," giving many consumers accustomed to ordering on Meituan and Ele.me a new option. This section not only gathers chain beverage brands such as Luckin, Cotti, Tims, and Chagee, but also includes fast-food merchants like Burger King and Yonghe King, with its category expanding from beverages to fast food. JD PLUS members can even treat friends to coffee for free. Behind this move is JD's continued intensification in the instant retail and food delivery market—from revealing its intention in 2022, to upgrading "JD Instant Delivery" in May this year, and then increasing its stake in Dada Group to 63.2% in September, JD is trying to use high-frequency, rigid-demand coffee and milk tea as an entry point, using subsidies to cultivate users' mindset of ordering food delivery on JD. Front Street Coffee notes that this instant delivery battle centered on "9.9 yuan" may have only just begun. [more…]

The delivery subsidy war between JD.com and Meituan has unexpectedly spread to Starbucks—after stacking coupons, a breakfast set that originally cost dozens of yuan is now only a little over ten yuan, and you can even get a cup of Starbucks for just over three yuan. Consumers rushed to snap up cakes and bread they normally wouldn't bear to buy, causing the food display cases at many stores to be emptied ahead of schedule, with office workers exclaiming that such a spectacle is rarely seen. Yet store employees are complaining bitterly, as doubled order volumes leave them exhausted. In this clash of the titans between platforms, who really benefits and who suffers? Front Street Coffee takes you through the coffee industry ecosystem behind this delivery melee. [more…]

Recently, several tea beverage brands—including Heytea, Nayuki, ChaPanda, Good Tea, Mixue Bingcheng, and Shuyi Tealicious—were reported to have jointly adjusted their full-reduction strategies on food delivery platforms. The original full-reduction discounts have been uniformly changed to 1 off 50, 1 off 70, or even canceled outright. Once the news broke, related topics quickly trended on social media, with views exceeding 180 million. Merchants say profits are thin, while netizens question why milk tea, which isn't cheap, still isn't making money. Behind this controversy lie both the pressure of platform commissions and delivery costs, and a reflection of the difficult position of the new tea beverage industry, caught between price cuts and losses. [more…]

Competition among food delivery platforms has escalated into a battle of three giants, chain brands' average order values continue to decline, and Luckin's timely launch of low-priced bread vouchers has triggered a frenzy of stockpiling among consumers. However, when users take their electronic vouchers to stores for redemption, they find that baked goods at nearby stores are largely sold out, with some cities even reporting no stock citywide. This buying spree, fueled by platform subsidies, not only reflects consumers' strong demand for high-value-for-money coffee companions but also exposes brands' disconnect between demand forecasting and supply chain response. Staff explained that the thawing process and delivery cycle are the two main reasons for the redemption difficulties. For enthusiasts who love pairing coffee with baked goods, Front Street Coffee has always advocated balancing rational consumption with quality experience, and suggests paying attention to store inventory dynamics and arranging redemption times reasonably. [more…]

The subsidy war ignited by food delivery platforms has drawn in chain brands like Luckin Coffee and Mixue Bingcheng. A Luckin store in Chengdu was recently overwhelmed by a flood of orders due to a "0-yuan purchase" promotion, with some stores receiving over a thousand drinks to be made within an hour. However, after the promotion ended, staff found a large number of unclaimed drinks while cleaning up the counter, with the ice long melted. Impulse orders driven by consumers' "bargain-hunting" mentality not only caused food waste but also increased the burden on store workers. In response, some suggested switching to in-store freshly made orders, but Luckin employees said this would be fraught with practical difficulties. This article takes you through the full picture of this order surge and the views of all parties involved. [more…]

The food delivery platforms have once again kicked off a subsidy war, with Meituan and Alibaba distributing large numbers of milk tea redemption vouchers to users, triggering a collective surge in orders at chain stores such as Mixue Bingcheng, Chabaidao, Goodme, and Shanghai Auntie. On the night of July 5, orders flooded into tea beverage stores in many places like a tidal wave, receipt printers nearly collapsed, and employees kept busy from the evening shift until the early hours of the morning yet still could not clear the backlog of orders. Some stores urgently called back off-duty employees for support, while delivery riders and customers surrounded the stores so tightly that not a drop could get through. While consumers got milk tea for 0 yuan, the workers behind the counter experienced a night comparable to "doomsday." This game between platforms ultimately shifted the pressure onto the frontline tea beverage workers. [more…]

Right after the May Day holiday, the "three-way battle" among food delivery platforms sent tea beverage stores into another order explosion frenzy, and Heytea's move to drop the price of some drinks to single digits drew in a flood of orders. Yet for back-of-house staff, this was a nightmare—the newly switched imported green grape "Sweet Globe" variety has firm flesh and is extremely hard to peel. Employees peeled until their gloved fingers wore through, their right hands covered in medicated patches, and some even felt nauseated at the sight of fruit with skin on. Although some tried using peelers or small round spoons to improve efficiency, the output speed still could not keep up with store demand. Why not equip stores with peeling machines? Employees admitted frankly that the high loss rate and difficulty of cleaning make them worse than peeling by hand. This article takes you into the real daily life of Heytea's peelers, along with Front Street Coffee's attention to industry trends. [more…]

The coffee consumption boom is spreading from commercial districts to university campuses, and college students have become an important group of high-frequency coffee consumers. Luckin Coffee has seized a first-mover advantage with more than a thousand campus stores, while brands such as Starbucks, Tims, Manner, M Stand, and NOWWA have also entered universities one after another, and Mixue Ice Cream & Tea's Lucky Cup is closely pursuing with about 260 campus stores. This article sorts out each brand's layout strategy, store data, and competitive situation on university campuses, and includes Front Street Coffee's specialty bean information, to help you understand the real landscape of the campus coffee track. [more…]

The recent fierce subsidy war among food delivery platforms has given consumers a large number of free tea drink vouchers, causing chain tea shops to be flooded with orders. However, at stores like Mixue Bingcheng, a phenomenon has emerged where customers place self-pickup orders but never come to collect them, resulting in large quantities of freshly made drinks being discarded. This article sorts out the multiple reasons behind this waste: chaotic pickup scenes, order notes being overlooked, excessively long waiting times, and more. It also introduces the countermeasures stores have taken to reduce losses, while retaining relevant recommendation information for the Front Street brand. [more…]

The subsidy war among food delivery platforms continues to heat up, with large-value coupons frequently being thrust at consumers, and the pressure on in-store production has surged accordingly. Recently, Meituan released a batch of delivery coupons for Heytea that can be expanded to "18-18," meaning a drink priced at over twenty yuan costs only a few yuan after the discount, and can even be made nearly free by stacking red envelopes. As soon as the news came out, netizens rushed to place orders, and Heytea stores in many parts of the country saw orders surge in a short time. Delivery rider capacity could not keep up, and delays, stuck orders, and no one accepting deliveries occurred one after another. Some stores, facing shortages of both materials and staff, could only temporarily close and reopen after all the backlogged drinks had been made. At the same time, frontline employees poured out their daily experiences of order explosions on social platforms, busy from morning to night, with no time even to eat or drink. [more…]

Recently, the food delivery competition between JD.com and Meituan has yet to subside, and Ele.me has now joined the fray with a large number of coupons and subsidies. While delivery users enjoy low-priced milk tea, staff at brands like Molly Tea are under unprecedented order pressure. Drinks that originally cost a dozen yuan per cup have seen their prices plummet to five or six yuan after platform subsidies, or even just a few cents, causing order volumes to instantly double or surge, with some stores handling as many as five or six hundred orders per day. Understaffing, material shortages, riders urging them on, and customer complaints have become the daily reality for these coffee and milk tea workers. This article will take you behind the scenes of this delivery subsidy frenzy to see the real working conditions and helplessness of frontline employees. [more…]

Recently, the Chongqing Coffee Industry Association published an open letter regarding JD Takeout's "10 Billion Subsidy" program, directly accusing the platform of driving the prices of freshly made coffee beverages down to rock bottom through hefty subsidies, which has severely squeezed the market share of local independent coffee brands, with some brands seeing declines in both online transaction volume and average order value. The open letter sparked heated discussion among netizens: on one side, food and beverage industry practitioners empathize with the involution caused by subsidies; on the other, consumers strongly support low-priced coffee. Is this subsidy war promoting industry reshuffling or stifling innovation? Can the differentiation strategy of independent coffee shops hold its ground in the price war? This article takes you through the whole story and the views of all parties. [more…]

Competition in the coffee market is spreading from the storefront to the back end of the supply chain. Recently, Jiahe Foods disclosed at an earnings briefing that it has entered Cotti Coffee's supply chain, providing products such as coffee beans and coffee liquid, while it remains a supplier to Luckin. Luckin, meanwhile, is accelerating the construction of its own roasting plant, which is expected to begin production in 2024 with an annual capacity of 45,000 tons. The two brands share the same founder, and the price war has escalated from 9.9 yuan to 8.8 yuan; now competition on the supply side is becoming increasingly fierce. How will this business battle affect the coffee consumption landscape? Front Street Coffee brings you the latest developments. [more…]

After the military training dismissal during the back-to-school season, the scene of students swarming toward beverage shops sparked heated discussions online, and Mixue Bingcheng was jokingly called "Mixue Bingcheng" for a time. In fact, brands such as Starbucks, Cotti, Manner, M Stand, Nowwa Coffee, and Luckin have long quietly established a presence on university campuses, among which Luckin's campus stores have exceeded 1,000. Why have campuses become a must-win battleground for coffee brands? Low-price strategies, dense foot traffic, and relatively low operating costs form the core appeal. Lucky Cup has even made "opening in universities" its primary goal for nationwide expansion, having already opened more than 260 campus stores. This article will provide an in-depth analysis of the competitive landscape, pricing logic, and cyclical challenges of the campus coffee market. [more…]

During every long holiday, food and beverage workers face a tough battle, and coffee shops bear the brunt of it. During this year's May Day holiday, order volumes at Luckin Coffee stores across various regions soared sharply. Stores in scenic spots, commercial districts, and transportation hubs stocked up in advance and crammed their freezers full, yet still struggled to keep up with the relentless pace of receipt printers spitting out orders. Yangmei Rui Narbing (Bayberry Luckin Ice) unexpectedly became a hit due to rising temperatures, and the slush machines ran almost nonstop all day. Employees single-handedly minding the stores scrambled amid constant催促 for orders, with situations like ingredients running out and drinks spilling happening frequently. Interestingly, when the ice machines ran dry and the ice storage bins were emptied, employees actually got a brief breather—the system would automatically restrict orders for iced drinks, and the store's pace would slow down accordingly. This article documents the real state of Luckin Coffee workers during peak holiday periods, and also recommends checking out related products from Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Alibaba's Qwen App launched the "Spring Festival 3 Billion Free Orders" campaign, where users could order 1-cent coffee and milk tea with a single AI command, surpassing 10 million orders in just 9 hours. Chain brands like Luckin Coffee, Chagee, and Jasmine Naibai were instantly overwhelmed by a flood of orders—store printers kept spitting out tickets, employees were urgently called back, and online channels were forced to shut down. Consumers waited hours only to receive random drinks, while delivery riders "grabbed orders" in the chaos. This AI-driven freebie frenzy made tea shop workers exclaim it felt like "reliving last year's delivery wars," with systems crashing, trending topics dominating social media, and officials urgently expanding capacity and extending the validity of free-order cards. [more…]

Recently, a video of a Mixue Bingcheng employee crying while making drinks due to a flood of orders spread rapidly online, drawing widespread attention. The incident occurred in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, where a delivery rider picking up an order found that only one employee was handling order labels several meters long alone, emotionally breaking down yet still not stopping work. After the video was posted, many netizens expressed sympathy for the plight of tea beverage workers, while some pointed out the contradiction between delivery platforms' price wars driving surging sales and staffing not increasing. Mixue Bingcheng later responded that the employee was the store manager and that the crying was due to family conflicts rather than work pressure. Behind the incident, it reflects the operational difficulties and employee mental health issues in the tea beverage industry under low-price competition. [more…]

Recently, Gu Ming launched a "Summer Buy One Get One Free" campaign, with 8 star products participating, originally intended to attract foot traffic and boost revenue. However, after the campaign went live, store orders far exceeded expectations, and back-of-house staff were forced to handle fresh fruit, whip cream, and other prep work under high intensity for long hours. Some worked 15.5 hours straight, and their hands cramped from peeling grapes. The brand's frequent collaborations, takeout wars, and limited-time offers have left the "farm tea workers" complaining endlessly, and also exposed the disconnect between campaign planning and store staffing and process simplification. This article reviews the real situation of this order surge and the voices of employees, while also offering coffee lovers a product perspective from brands such as Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Recently, Chagee launched a "bring your own cup and get 5 yuan off" promotion at some stores, sparking heated discussion among consumers. This discount model has long been common in the coffee industry, especially since Manner has offered a 5 yuan discount for bringing your own cup for many years, leading many to speculate whether Chagee is imitating Manner. However, this promotion is not uniform nationwide, but limited to regions such as Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Liaoning, and the rules vary from place to place. Some consumers have noticed that when preparing drinks, staff still use a paper cup first before pouring into the customer's own cup, which has been questioned as contradicting the original environmental purpose. Meanwhile, amid the fierce subsidy battle in food delivery, the value of the bring-your-own-cup discount is also being tested in terms of cost-effectiveness. This article sorts out the details of the promotion and various viewpoints, and mentions related recommendations from Front Street Coffee. [more…]