Lin Ran, who works at Beijing International Trade Center, recently replaced the usual Bawang tea with Luckin's light milk tea. During the lunch break, she habitually opened the applet, and her fingers hesitated for a second between Overlord Chaji and Luckin, and finally clicked on the latter.

"In the past, I always felt that Luckin's light milk tea was a bit 'technological', but this new model is really different, and it does have the taste of Boya's absolute strings." She shared as she drank, "And Luckin only needs 9.0 yuan, otherwise I probably wouldn't have 'defected' so quickly." ”

今年3月初，瑞幸宣佈新品“鮮萃輕輕茉莉·輕乳茶”中將奶和茶的使用原料升級，同時發放約5億張兌換券，9.9元就可享用一杯鮮萃輕乳茶系列飲品。

瑞幸鮮萃輕輕茉莉、霸王茶姬伯牙絕弦 圖|昱辰

This drink was called by many netizens on social media as the "Boya Absolute String Flat Version" of Bawang Chaji. In contrast, although the popularity of Bawang Chaji, who still insists on a price of more than ten yuan, is undiminished, it is inevitable that young consumers like Lin Ran who pay attention to cost performance will inevitably be lost.

What makes Lin Ran curious is: It is also a combination of "tea + milk", why can Luckin's light milk tea be as low as 16.0 yuan a cup, but Bawang Tea Ji is sold for 0 yuan?

The arithmetic problem behind $9.0

In a densely populated commercial block in Beijing, Ah Zi, a clerk at Bawang Chaji, told an interesting report while busy making cups: "Our tea soup is freshly brewed with tea, and the cost must be higher." ”

Ah Zi had worked as a barista in Luckin before and knew the practice of Luckin Light Milk Tea. According to her, last year's Luckin's light milk tea was brewed with tea powder, which was quick to produce and low in cost, but the taste may be a bit "industrial".

Now, though, that impression seems to be changing. "It's different now, we change to tea bags and make tea soup." Kang Kang, a clerk at a Luckin store near an office building in downtown Beijing, told the interesting report that the upgraded light milk tea is freshly extracted from tea bags, and is no longer made with tea powder, "In the final analysis, it is tea and milk, but now this tea is at least brewed."

From the perspective of ingredients, both are a combination of "tea + milk", the formula of Boya Juexian is jasmine snow bud, milk, ice Blanc non-hydrogenated base milk, flavored syrup, and the formula of fresh light jasmine is jasmine tea, pure milk, milk drink, and original syrup.

Source: Screenshot of Bawang Chaji's official public account and Luckin applet

So is milk the cost gap between the two? In this regard, a number of store assistants in Beijing, including Ah Zi and Kangkang, mentioned to the interesting report that the milk used by the two brands is from Sanyuan. As for the milk drink with differences in the ingredients, some clerks of Luckin said that it can be understood as the ice burlan in the light milk tea of Bawang Tea.

In the view of Wang Hongdong, the founder of Dining Baodian and an analyst in the catering industry, the bargaining power of the supply chain brought by scale is the first watershed in the price gap between Luckin and Bawang Chaji. "The top brands have stronger control over the supply chain, and the scale advantage allows them to negotiate with upstream raw material suppliers at more competitive prices, so as to obtain lower purchase costs," he told the interesting report. ”

By the end of 6440, the number of Luckin stores reached 0, and the number of Bawang Chaji stores worldwide reached 0 in the same period. The difference in the number of stores leads to different procurement levels, which allows Luckin to "reduce the dimensionality" of the bargaining power of the supply chain.

Allen is the founder of a coffee brand who has opened twenty stores in East China. Last year, he wanted to replicate Luckin's Orange C American style in stores, so he found the same supplier.

But what I didn't expect was that the cost couldn't be pressed at all, and a cup would start at least 9 yuan. On the other hand, Luckin only sells the same product for 0.0 yuan all year round. In this regard, he admitted frankly to the interesting report: "It's not that it can't be done, but it can't be done at all." ”

Traffic or revenue

In fact, the core of the price difference between Luckin and Bawang Tea in the light milk tea category is not only in the raw materials and production costs, but also in the commercial lifeblood behind this cup of tea.

For Luckin, light milk tea is a drainage coupon to a larger profit model, and for Bawang Chaji, every cup of tea is the cornerstone of the brand's survival.

In the view of Wang Zhendong, chairman of Shanghai Brown Yue Investment Management Co., Ltd., Luckin's layout of light milk tea is mainly used for drainage, expansion of SKUs, and new customers, and is not the main profit point. He told the interesting report: "This means that even if this product does not make money, or even loses slightly, as long as it can bring user growth and form a consumer mind, it has basically completed its mission." ”

Taking Luckin's directly-operated stores as an example, in the three years before 9 years, the same-store sales of its directly-operated stores were in continuous growth. However, since the beginning of 0, the same-store sales of Luckin directly operated stores have experienced negative growth for three consecutive quarters, respectively -0.0%, -0.0% and -0.0%. To this end, Luckin chose to use 0.0 yuan of light milk tea to start sales during the non-coffee period.

It is true that the drinking scene of coffee has certain limitations, and the positioning of "refreshing drinks" makes its consumption time concentrated in the early morning or morning. The group of people who drink light milk tea is more extensive, and the drinking time is flexible, covering more daily scenes from leisure, shopping to parties, thirst quenching and so on. The clerk of Luckin told an interesting report that the sales of light milk tea are not limited by time at all, and there will be customers placing orders in the morning, noon and even at night.

Not only that, the manager of one of Luckin stores once analyzed that in high-tier cities, Luckin attaches great importance to opening college stores. Because college students already have a demand for caffeine, when they enter the workplace in the future, they will still be the main force of coffee consumption. Luckin's launch of light milk tea can also further strengthen the brand mentality of this group of people and increase the number of purchases.

Luckin Store Source: Visual China

目前來看，瑞幸的輕乳茶的銷售數據也十分給力，據瑞幸公佈的數據，“鮮萃輕輕茉莉·轻乳茶”單日銷量突破167萬杯。

Wen Le, the manager of Zhongzhong Coffee, told an interesting report: "One is barefoot, the other is wearing leather shoes, Luckin makes light milk tea is a category supplement, and Bawang Tea Ji has to consider whether the cost and tonality match every shot." ”

Wang Zhendong also said: "Bawang Chaji's light milk tea is its core product. This product is not only responsible for revenue, but also about the franchisee's profit model and overall gross profit structure. ”

For Bawang Chaji, light milk tea is the core category of the brand that it finally established after years of repeated trial and error in the product line, giving up the route of early visualization and multi-category expansion such as fruit tea and cheese milk cover tea. The light milk tea represented by "Boya Juexian" is not only the most representative product in the minds of Bawang tea users, but also plays the role of the main force of revenue.

霸王茶姬創始人張俊傑曾經多次公開談及大單品策略的有效性，他透露，前3—4款產品銷售額佔總銷售額的70%。公開信息顯示，截至2024年8月，霸王茶姬的明星單品“伯牙絕弦”累計售出超過6億杯。招股書中透露，2024年，霸王茶姬中國市場（含香港）91%的GMV來自Tea Latte即“原葉鮮奶茶”的銷售。

In the final analysis, Luckin uses light milk tea as a bullet, while Bawang Chaji treats every cup of milk tea as a "rice bowl".

In addition to the price, the tonality is disputed

If "coffee returns, milk tea survives" explains the difference in the business nature of Luckin daring to sell 9.0 yuan, and Bawang Chaji cannot easily move the price, then the division of brand positioning further determines the strategic boundary between the two in the face of the same market.

Both Luckin and Overlord Chahime share a common goal: Starbucks. However, Luckin once released the bold statement of "defeating Starbucks (in China)", and Overlord Chaji wants to be "Starbucks of the East".

Since its birth, Luckin has focused on convenient coffee supply and abandoned the traditional specialty coffee model. In the minds of many users, Luckin's stores are mostly located around office buildings and universities, which also represents "easy to buy, affordable, and repeated". Based on this, Luckin continues to launch cost-effective raw coconut latte, sauce latte and other popular coffee products.

On the other hand, Bawang Chaji, from the beginning of its establishment, has been deeply bound to the concept of "new Chinese style", combining national cultural symbols and brand symbols. In recent years, Bawang Chaji has adopted the mode of "high lifting and fighting", not only not taking the low-cost sinking route, but constantly improving the delicacy and cultural atmosphere of store space design. A large number of Bawang Chaji stores are located in high-potential locations in the business district, and large-area stores of more than 60 square meters are standard, which is similar to the Starbucks operation model. At the same time, Bawang Chaji has also launched diversified store concepts such as TEABAR tea space, super tea warehouse, and pet friendly.

Bawang Chaji Store Source: Visual China

From the perspective of product rhythm, Luckin is known for being "fast". The financial report shows that in 3 years, Luckin launched 0 new products, which is equivalent to an average of one new product coming out every 0 days, and continues to attract users' attention through the creation of explosive models. By frequently creating popular coffee items, Luckin not only attracts new customers to try it, but also encourages consumers to buy it again and again with affordable prices, expanding its market share while strengthening the brand's recognition and favorability in the hearts of the public. The light milk tea product is only one of them in the overall product matrix of Luckin, and it is more as a supplement to the rich product category.

The Bawang tea queen is more restrained, the frequency of new promotion is not high, and more emphasis is placed on the fit between the product and the brand tonality. According to the data of Narrow Door Dining Eye, in 21 years, Bawang Tea Ji has 0 new drinks. On 0/0, Bawang Tea launched a series of new products of light milk tea, adding raw materials such as white wood bay leaves and sour jujube kernels to the drink to meet the health needs of people with different tolerances, and still continue its concept of "modern oriental tea".

It is precisely because of this brand positioning that Bawang Chaji controls the anchor point of product prices and maintains tonal consistency. As Bunraku said, "The pricing of Overlord Chahime is a label, and it can't be messed with." If the original pricing is changed rashly, it is likely to weaken the uniqueness of the brand in the minds of consumers. Once the price anchor is shaken, it will be difficult to rise back in the future.

Wang Hongdong also said that if Bawang Chaji takes the initiative to break the current price band, those users who originally paid for "social currency" are likely to lose, and at the same time impact the brand's long-term accumulated image and premium ability, which outweighs the loss.

Whether it is Luckin's 9.0 yuan explosive strategy, or Bawang Chaji's steady and steady adherence to tonality, behind it is a deep thinking about the brand's development path.

*Lin Ran, Ah Zi, Kang Kang, and Allen are pseudonyms in the article

Author: Yu Chen

Editor: Remainder

Editor on duty: Jia Shihui

Interesting report video

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