Is Cotti Coffee Franchise Reliable? Differences Between Cotti Coffee and Luckin Coffee

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

The Rise and Fall of Cotti Coffee's Pricing Strategy

Since its first store opened at the end of last October, Cotti Coffee has promoted some drinks at 9.9 yuan per cup, drawing plenty of consumer attention.

That opening ultra-low pricing inevitably recalls early Luckin Coffee, with its free first cup for new customers and half-off coupons. The similar playbook has fueled endless speculation about the connection between the two brands.

Soft-opening promotions are common and effective for many brands, but Lu Zhengyao and Qian Zhiya introduced nothing new this time - just conventional sales tactics. Unsurprisingly, many read the move as an attempt to replicate Luckin's success.

The End of the 9.9 Yuan Era

The ultra-low price war did not last. On April 1st this year, the brand formally said goodbye to the 9.9 yuan era: per the latest price list, individual coffee items rose by 2-7 yuan. Analysts noted that the across-the-board price increase is an admission that the original marketing strategy was unprofitable - price wars are simply not sustainable.

Why Cotti Coffee Failed to Build a Stable Customer Base

Judging by the menu and customer feedback, the low prices drew curious walk-ins, but dated products and inconsistent quality never converted them into regulars. Notably, Cotti's product line shadows Luckin's almost item for item - nearly as soon as Luckin launches something new, Cotti rolls out a lookalike, with no real differentiation.

Product quality, meanwhile, is a running consumer complaint. Breakneck store expansion combined with uneven staff training means the same drink comes out differently at different stores. One netizen recently shared the making of Cotti's Pistachio Cheese Latte: the staffer used cheese topping that had not fully thawed, forcing it into the coffee; the finished drink lacked the promised cheese effect and looked sparse - and it was served to the customer anyway.

When your products imitate Luckin's but lack consistent quality, customers simply go back to the original.

The Purpose - and Pitfalls - of Price Wars

The point of a low-price strategy is to get consumers to try your products, then convert them into long-term customers after a good first experience. Trust builds over time, and investor confidence follows.

But selling at 9.9 yuan at a loss only deepens the deficit - and now that prices have risen, persuading consumers to choose Cotti may be harder than ever.

Why Lu Zhengyao Could Not Build a Second Luckin

Luckin's IPO enjoyed substantial investor backing for "loss-making operations." Today's coffee market is nothing like 2017's, when the low-price segment was largely empty.

Unlike Luckin's early days of capital-funded subsidy wars, Cotti has announced no financing and no IPO. With no hit products and no price advantage, all that remains is the founder's story - and that story cannot escape the shadow of the Luckin fraud scandal, which makes investors wary of both the brand and its owner.

Consumers, meanwhile, have grown accustomed to cheap coffee, and the shine of 9.9 yuan promos has worn off. At similar price points, more people now choose established chains with more innovative, more consistent products.

Luckin's turnaround came from halting its rapid expansion after the scandal, focusing entirely on product development, and stabilizing its customer base. Lu Zhengyao seems not to have absorbed that lesson, pushing store openings instead - recent reports say Cotti opened 102 stores within 7 days.

Expanding without a stable customer base is essentially spending recklessly to make the brand look bigger than it is, with nothing genuine underneath. Combined with the recent price increases, that is a dangerous position.

Perhaps Lu's real target is not customers but franchisees: grow the franchise network and use their capital to build the market.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

While the chains fight over 9.9 yuan cups, what actually wins customers back is what is in them - good coffee. If you are building a home setup or a small shop, FrontStreet's entry-level specialty beans offer a quality the discount wars rarely touch. For espresso, the FrontStreet Classic Blend - a medium-dark, three-origin recipe inspired by the classic Mandheling-and-Brazil "Mamba" pairing, with a touch of Robusta - pulls shots of butter, toast, and caramel-cookie aroma with stable crema, ideal for home machines and latte-art practice alike.

Shop owners balancing cost and quality should look at the FrontStreet Dark Cocoa Blend, a 100% Arabica mix of Yunnan washed and Brazilian pulped natural beans: cream-chocolate and cocoa-cookie aromatics when ground, a balanced cup, and a golden, glossy crema - affordable enough for daily service. The Signature Blend (Colombian washed plus Brazilian pulped natural) is the classic alternative, with nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel that stand up beautifully in milk.

And for single-origin pour-over, the washed Yirgacheffe Idido Cooperative remains the finest everyday introduction - jasmine florals, bright citrus-lemon acidity, and a clean tea-like finish at a price that makes drinking well every day possible, no subsidies required.