China’s Luckin Coffee Is Back From the Brink and Beating Starbucks
Consumers are getting hooked on cheap caffeine hits and coconut lattes, helping the chain overcome a scandal
Luckin’s recovery shows there’s still growth to be found in an economy otherwise grappling with deflation and a property crisis.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergAfter revelations of accounting fraud at coffee chain Luckin Coffee emerged in 2020, many believed it was over for the company seen as China’s answer to Starbucks.
Today, Luckin has not only survived but staged an extraordinary comeback as its cut-price lattes attract a growing number of customers, beating Starbucks to become the country’s biggest coffee retailer last year. Once derided as a cheap imitation of the Seattle-based giant, it’s now being emulated by other Chinese chains and even Starbucks appears to have taken a page or two from its playbook.