Luckin selling alcohol: the challenge is turning novelty into habit

Luckin is starting to try putting "alcohol" on its nationwide menu. On May 18, Luckin Coffee launched two annual specialty drinks nationwide, with some stores offering alcohol-containing versions. Previously, Luckin’s alcoholic special blends were mainly sold in a few shops such as Shenzhen's Twin Towers and Shanghai. This time, it is the first broad test on a nationwide scale. Due to the alcohol content of these products being above 0.5% vol, according to beverage alcohol regulations, Luckin’s alcoholic drinks can only be picked up in-store and it is strictly forbidden to sell to minors. For Luckin, alcoholic specialty blends are inherently topical new products. After ongoing coffee price wars and continuous increases in store density, Luckin needs to keep creating new reasons to consume. Alcoholic specialty blends not only encourage customers to try something new, but also leverage the “slightly tipsy” concept for social sharing, providing new ways of self-expression for the brand. At the same time, the new products offer more room for flavor expansion. Combining coffee, fruit flavors, tea base, cream topping and alcoholic elements like gin can extend drinks from a functional pick-me-up to light drinking, slightly tipsy, and emotional consumption scenarios. For highly standardized chain coffee brands, the significance of such products goes beyond selling another new drink—it’s about testing the consumption boundaries beyond coffee. Additionally, since alcoholic products are only available for in-store pickup, they objectively avoid the commission and delivery costs of third-party platforms. Luckin’s first quarter delivery expenses in 2026 still accounted for about 11% of revenue. In a highly popularized coffee delivery market, delivery costs remain an important variable affecting profit per cup. Alcoholic products, sold without delivery, sacrifice some convenience but offer a natural advantage in the profit model. This gives Luckin’s alcoholic specialty blends another meaning: they are not just new product marketing, but also a store efficiency test. If consumers are willing to go to the store to pick up alcoholic specialty blends, Luckin will have a chance to increase store traffic and order structure without taking on extra delivery costs. For a coffee chain brand with a large enough store network, bringing customers back to stores is also another avenue to boost operational efficiency. However, "slightly tipsy" drinks are not a brand new concept. Fresh-made beverage brands have experimented in this sector for some time. Cha Baidao once co-branded with Luzhou Laojiao to create the baijiu milk tea “Drunk Step Up”; Grandpa Doesn’t Brew Tea launched the “Tipsy Limited Edition” lychee ice brew with rice wine; HeyTea also tried specialty drinks with whisky in its Shenzhen and Guangzhou LAB stores. But regardless of short-term popularity, these products almost never truly move from “limited edition” to “regular offering.” The reason is not hard to understand. The core strengths of coffee and tea drinks are high frequency, convenience, and low burden, while the addition of alcohol limits consumption in terms of time, occasion, and target customers. For chain beverage brands, mixing a drink with alcohol is not difficult—specialty blends with gin require no new equipment, just following procedures, taking about 3 to 5 minutes to prepare, all within manageable limits. The challenge is whether consumers can form a stable habit of repeat purchases after the initial novelty. Especially since Luckin already has strong capabilities in launching new items and price perception, alcoholic specialty blends must prove they are not just a social media topic, but products that can continuously contribute to actual orders and profits. At a stage where it's increasingly hard for the coffee industry to create differentiation with a single hit product, the real test for Luckin selling alcohol is not whether alcohol can be sold, but whether new products can continue to create new reasons for consumption. Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market has risks, and investment needs caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account the specific investment objectives, financial conditions, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article fit their particular circumstances. Any investment made based on this is at your own responsibility.