Luckin Coffee's Successful US IPO: Can We Now Afford and Access Good Coffee?

At 21:30 Beijing time on the evening of the 17th, Luckin Coffee officially rang the listing bell on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. With that, the long-running rumors about Luckin's IPO finally came to an end.

A Company with the World's Fastest IPO Record

At this moment, how many people still see Luckin Coffee as just an ordinary coffee shop?

It has to be said that Luckin, in business less than two years, is increasingly departing from the usual idea of a traditional coffee shop. Although most of our sense of "traditional coffee shops" comes from Starbucks, and Luckin set out to break Starbucks' domestic dominance, it launched online ordering and delivery services that go beyond the "third space," expanded rapidly through numerous store openings, and kept issuing coupons to bring prices down. These moves have undoubtedly stirred up the domestic coffee market and captured the public's attention, whether or not you drink coffee.

Now Luckin has seized the spotlight again, both at home and abroad, not because its coffee is especially stunning, but because of its capital operations and its successful IPO.

"Speed" is Luckin's most distinctive trait.

Before Luckin, Pinduoduo and Qutoutiao had already shown how fast Chinese companies can go public in the United States, taking 3 years and 2 years respectively from founding to listing. But neither comes close to Luckin's 17 months, a figure no less impressive than its store expansion. Luckin has become the fastest company to IPO anywhere in the world.

Beyond that, Luckin is the largest Asian company on Nasdaq this year by IPO financing scale. Kathleen Smith, head of Renaissance Capital, noted, "Since the 1999-2000 internet bubble, no company has achieved a $3 billion public valuation within less than two years of its establishment."

However the public sees Luckin, at least in the eyes of capital it is a cup of coffee worth savoring.

Luckin's Coffee, China's Coffee?

The reason capital favors Luckin is inseparable from the booming domestic coffee market. Domestic coffee isn't only about Starbucks and Luckin. From foreign coffee chains that entered China long ago, to beverage brands that joined the competition by developing new coffee products, to the many independent specialty shops, at first glance Chinese people seem to have plenty of options when they want a cup of coffee.

At the same time, China's coffee culture is far from mature. For coffee, an imported product, Chinese consumers have a relatively vague sense of its place in their own lives. Deep down we tend to separate coffee from a glass of water, a pot of tea, or a bottle of cola, and then attach all sorts of additional meaning and value to it. Coffee in China is, surprisingly, so distinctive.

Some say Luckin is not a "legitimate" coffee shop. In their eyes, Luckin is simply using "coffee" as a product to play a capital game that ends in chaos. Yet at the bell-ringing ceremony, Luckin Coffee's founder and CEO, Qian Zhiya, used a "Luckin Coffee Manifesto" to announce the company's ambition: to give Chinese people affordable, delicious coffee.

Responding to media questions, CEO Qian Zhiya reiterated that losses were within Luckin's expectations, saying, "We currently do not consider profitability." The relentless expansion, the continued acquisition of users through subsidies, and the commitment to quality in the face of rising new competitors all present a positive image of a company working to cultivate the domestic coffee market and its consumers after a successful IPO.

Can We Really Drink a Cup of Coffee That Is Both Affordable and Delicious?

The bell-ringing ceremony was conducted by three well-known coffee champions, a demonstration of Luckin's emphasis on coffee quality. Before this, those three masters brought Luckin coffee beans that won the ICT Gold Award, and Luckin upgraded the formula across all its stores nationwide.

That said, doubts about Luckin Coffee's quality remain. Some media have pointed out that store staff are far from reaching the level of true baristas. Brief on-the-job training and rapid assembly-line operations leave coffee quality at the level of a chain store.

As consumers, should we demand more from Luckin? Should we hold expectations for Luckin's "Master Coffee"?

Luckin has successfully gone public in the United States and issued a manifesto at the IPO ceremony, committing to continue providing "affordable and accessible" good coffee. In Luckin's eyes, the taste preferences of the Chinese coffee market still need time to develop. And as the consumers being cultivated, will there one day come a time when we abandon chain-store coffee?

Luckin says: What's the difference between Chinese coffee and American coffee? Confidence. For those who love coffee and want to drink it, do you need a cup of Luckin Coffee filled with confidence?

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The whole question behind Luckin's IPO is whether good coffee can also be affordable, and the answer, for anyone willing to brew at home, is yes. FrontStreet makes that easy with its entry-level single origins, which let you explore the flavors of a region without spending a fortune. Start with the Ethiopia Sun-dried Huakui, a naturally processed coffee whose tropical fruit aromas of berry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and even lychee are unmistakable, with obvious sweetness, very low bitterness, and a juicy, smooth body that wins over people who think they dislike bitter coffee.

If you prefer a cleaner, more classic cup, FrontStreet's washed Ethiopia Gedeb Cooperative coffee brings jasmine florals, lemon acidity, and berry tones, while its Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon daily bean is the friendly, approachable entry to Brazil, with the classic creamy peanut, cocoa, and nutty flavors and a soft, low-acid, well-balanced body.

And if you want a heavier, bolder style, FrontStreet's Indonesia Lintong Mandheling, wet-hulled and full-bodied, delivers a rich, smooth, herb-and-spice cup suited to those who don't care for acidity, while FrontStreet's PWN Golden Mandheling steps up to a higher grade, selected three times by hand and once by machine for the lowest defect rate and a cleaner, smoother cup. Whichever you choose, FrontStreet keeps good coffee within reach.