South Korean media: "Average each Chinese drinks three cups," Luckin Coffee sets record!
On March 29, South Korea's *Herald Economy* published an article stating that the domestic Chinese coffee brand Luckin Coffee achieved record-breaking performance in 2025, securing a dominant position in China's coffee market.
Data shows the company's total revenue for the year reached 49.29 billion RMB, up 43% year-on-year.
Luckin Coffee’s annual beverage sales amounted to as high as 4.1 billion cups, equivalent to each of China’s 1.4 billion people consuming approximately three cups of Luckin Coffee on average.
Luckin Coffee’s success stems from its proactive store expansion strategy. In 2025, the company opened 8,708 new stores, bringing its cumulative number of stores to 31,048. Notably, sales from directly operated stores shifted from a 16.7% decline in 2024 to a 7.5% increase in 2025, becoming the primary driver behind overall growth.
A key highlight of Luckin Coffee’s 2025 sales performance lies in the significant results achieved through cooperation with e-commerce platforms and food delivery services. With major delivery platforms launching extensive discount promotions on coffee and milk tea, Luckin Coffee’s monthly transaction volume has exceeded 100 million users for five consecutive months.
However, Luckin Coffee believes that a major strategic shift toward brand leadership will occur in the coffee market in 2026, with the focus shifting from price competition to brand value. To this end, the company is intensifying preparations to respond accordingly.
Previously, the rise and fall of China’s coffee market depended largely on pricing below 10 yuan—specifically, ultra-low-price marketing strategies centered around 9.9 yuan. Recently, Luckin Coffee’s competitor, Kuddi Coffee, has begun scaling back promotional activities, signaling an industry-wide wave of transformation.
Guo Jin Yi, CEO of Luckin Coffee, stated that future market competition will no longer be limited to “price” or “single best-selling products,” but will instead evolve into a strategic competition encompassing brand awareness, customer experience, emotional value, and product development systems.
Luckin Coffee plans to continue implementing its “store expansion strategy” in 2026, but will no longer rely solely on low-price tactics. Instead, the company will focus on diversifying product pricing and enhancing operational efficiency. Industry analysts point out that even amid concerns over oversupply, Luckin Coffee, backed by its network of over 30,000 large-scale stores and data-driven new product development capabilities, remains poised to serve as a core driver for long-term growth.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1860962112441353/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author.