Is the Crossover Final Frontier Coffee? NIO Registers NIO CAFE Trademark!

Automotive Giants Enter the Coffee Market

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What? No way! The popularity of the coffee market continues to grow unabated! Are car manufacturers going to start selling coffee too? Drinking Americanos in clothing stores, lattes in phone stores, and now coffee in car dealerships! Perhaps in the near future, people will be able to order a cup of coffee anytime, anywhere, and in any environment when they're out and about.

NIO's Coffee Trademark Application

According to Tianyancha App, Shanghai NIO Automobile Co., Ltd. has applied to register four "NIO CAFE" trademarks in international categories including catering accommodation, beer beverages, and convenience foods. The current status of all trademarks is pending application.

NIO is one of China's new forces in car manufacturing, established in November 2014, with founder and chairman Li Bin. On September 12, 2018, it was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock code "NIO," with its products positioned as mid-to-high-end brands.

Coffee Market Growth Prospects

Data shows that in 2022, China added 19,000 new coffee-related registered enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 26.6%. According to the "2022 China Fresh Coffee Category Development Report" released by Meituan Food, the number of coffee stores in new first-tier and third-tier cities grew at the highest rate, approaching 19%. Takeaway data shows that coffee orders in third, fourth, and fifth-tier cities increased by over 200% year-on-year, and the market size is expected to continue growing to 15.79 billion yuan in 2023. The decision to cross over into the coffee industry this time is likely due to recognizing the future development prospects of the coffee sector.

NIO's Previous Coffee Collaborations

Previously, NIO has had several cross-industry collaborations. At the end of 2021, NIO jointly launched a co-branded special drink "HelloNIO" and a custom New Year travel cup with Minority Coffee. According to reports, Minority Coffee also announced on their official account that "Hello NIO" is made from sun-dried Yunnan coffee beans using medium-dark roasting, highlighting flavors while pursuing sweetness and acidity, paired with cocoa powder from Ecuador, milk, and strawberry crumble! The New Year travel cup could only be obtained by test-driving NIO cars during the event period. From December 20, 2021, to January 2, 2022, users who invited friends to complete a test drive would receive a travel cup for both the inviter and the invitee.

Going back to August 2021, NIO and Manner Coffee, which shares the same environmental philosophy, launched a limited edition - the Orange Sunset Bubble Drink. This environmental pairing of NIO and Manner was called a "dream collaboration" by many, centered around the concept of "chasing sunsets," planning a romantic orange sunset for consumers with an extremely delicate lifestyle sentiment. According to reports, consumers who brought their most beautiful sunset photos to the store to share with baristas could receive co-branded keychains, and those who shared the beautiful sunset photos on their WeChat Moments or Xiaohongshu could also receive a co-branded tumbler.

NIO's Coffee Positioning

Perhaps in this market with countless cross-industry collaborations, collaborations themselves are nothing special, but this time a car manufacturer has directly applied for a trademark, which is quite a leap! Considering NIO's positioning, NIO's coffee will likely follow a high-end route.

Actually speaking, NIO has been selling coffee for many years. According to reports, NIO's offline stores are uniformly called NIO Centers, which contain seven core functional areas: exhibition hall, lounge area, etc., among which there is also NIO's exclusive coffee. However, from this registered trademark name, it's clear that NIO will formally enter the coffee industry.

Impact on the Coffee Market

Currently, there's no visible impact of cross-industry brands on existing coffee brands. After all, established coffee brands have their own reputation and experience in the coffee field. For cross-industry brands to impact them, they first need to differentiate themselves, especially in product development. For serious coffee enthusiasts, they value product quality and reputation more.

If cross-industry players' coffee can capture consumer tastes, they might achieve better results. From a certain perspective, the entire coffee market will flourish in the future, continuously penetrating deeper to cover third, fourth, and fifth-tier cities, gradually expanding the consumer base.

Image Source: Internet

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