The Starbucks Rival That Has Everyone Talking Is Finally in the U.S.—I Tried It FirstI can't believe what I'm about to say.
By Kennedy Dierks
Kennedy Dierks is a devout foodie and news writer at Allrecipes with over five years of experience in food media. A former Associate Editor at Spoon University, she’s written hundreds of articles on food news, trends, recipes, and grocery must-haves.
Published on September 13, 2025
Allrecipes
How Luckin Coffee is taking on Starbucks in the U.S.
Published Tue, Sep 16 20258:00 AM EDT
Ryan Baker, CNBC.
Luckin Coffee, which unseated Starbucks as the top chain in China, is now making a big play in the Seattle-based stalwart’s home country. As of mid-September, Luckin has opened 5 locations in New York City.
Luckin stores operate without cashiers, and customers must place orders on its mobile app. Although the sticker price of its drinks are not that far off from those at Starbucks, Luckin’s operating model relies heavily on discounting by showering users with coupons in the app, typically in the range of 30% to 50% off.
Research from Bernstein suggests Luckin’s current pricing levels and store volumes are not sustainable, as its initial stores are operating at a loss. That is not how its competitor Starbucks operates.
“Starbucks is always striving to be profitable on a single occasion... Usually, trying to target a minimum of 15% margin per store is our estimation,” said Bernstein U.S restaurant equity research analyst Danilo Gargiulo. “In the case of Luckin, the idea is I want to grow in awareness. I want to make sure that the brand gets recognized on a national basis, even though at the beginning, this means that I might need to be suffering from some smaller losses on a per store basis.”
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