BEIJING/WASHINGTON: Once dismissed as a cheap imitation of Starbucks, China’s Luckin Coffee has not only overtaken its American rival on home turf - it is now expanding into the US, opening its first two stores in New York this week. 

News of Luckin’s US store openings has been met with a wave of congratulatory messages and excitement on Chinese social media, with many celebrating the company’s global expansion against the backdrop of the US-China tariff war.

“This is great. Luckin has gone (truly) global,” wrote a user by the handle Coffee Yi on the popular Sina Weibo microblogging site. “Americans are going to pay (what we pay) in yuan for good coffee,” said another. 

On Instagram, users and influencers showed off free Luckin tote bags which were given out to promote the launch of its New York City storefronts and drinks that were priced as low as 99 cents. 

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“I love their iced coconut coffee and velvet latte drinks,” said a customer who visited a newly-opened Luckin branch on Sixth Avenue. 

“Please open a store in California and bring your global ambassador Liu Yifei,” said another customer, referring to the Wuhan-born Chinese American actress best known for her role in Disney’s 2020 live-action film Mulan.

BREWING GLOBAL SUCCESS 

Chinese beverage companies have been having their moment in the spotlight - with Chagee CEO Zhang Junjie recently becoming a billionaire at age 30 after the tea chain successfully went public on the Nasdaq in April and beverage giant Mixue, now the world’s largest F&B chain by store count, surpassing McDonald’s and Starbucks, seeing success in Hong Kong after it made its IPO debut in March.

Luckin first burst onto China’s cutthroat coffee scene back in 2017 and industry watchers say young Gen Z customers have been vital to its success - many who flock to stores for a taste of its highly-affordable signature cold foams, brews and lattes. 

“The rise of the Chinese coffee industry and Luckin is the result of China’s embrace of the world,” wrote Chinese journalist Ding Gang in an opinion piece for state-run outlet Huanqiu, published on Wednesday (Jul 2). 

“With flexible category innovation, digital operations and cost-effectiveness, Luckin has cultivated a variety of fresh flavors that suit young Chinese coffee drinkers,” he said. 

Ding noted that Luckin is one of the biggest buyers of coffee beans from Yunnan, a province in southwest China better known for its Pu’er tea.

With a foothold in the US, industry observers will now be watching to see if Luckin’s value-focused, app-based approach can win over American coffee drinks.

“The world has never lacked coffee (stores) and brands,” said Ding Gang, adding that the global coffee market would continue to expand. 

“Luckin Coffee’s (entry into) the US is not to copy Starbucks’ strategy but to expand global taste boundaries - with coffee that carries a taste of China’s heritage,” he said.