Ella Harry | Head Editor & Emerson Watt | Opinion Editor
September 12, 2025
In recent years, a new coffee titan has emerged. Founded in 2017 in Beijing, Luckin Coffee has quickly become Starbucks’s biggest competitor. As of 2023, the Chinese corporation surpassed Starbucks within the country by both number of stores as well as revenue. Now, despite controversy, Luckin Coffee is looking to expand its stores to the United States, with two stores opening in June in New York City.
Luckin Coffee’s popularity can be partly attributed to their fairly-priced drinks, with coffee prices ranging from three to five dollars, and many customers receiving their first drinks for the low cost of $1.99. Additionally, customers have also reported friendly service from many of the store’s locations. However, what is slightly baffling to many is the fact that the company has been able to completely reestablish itself despite facing scandals in 2020.
Beginning in April 2019, Luckin employees allegedly used purchasing schemes to create fake sales transactions. Along with that, the company itself intentionally inflated its expenses and created fake accounting records to conceal the fraudulent sales. As a result, net losses occurred in financial statements, their stock price plummeted, trading was halted; all while Luckin Coffee was being falsely represented as rapidly growing and profitable.
By 2020, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Luckin Coffee with fraud, and the company settled it, paying a $180 million dollar penalty. Regardless of this major setback, Luckin Coffee has made an unexpected return, with the company now threatening once more to compete with Starbucks as they focus with a greater emphasis on the American market.
Despite their return, many American consumers are not quite ready to give up Starbucks. While San Clemente senior Avalon Davis was more than willing to give Luckin Coffee a shot if, “they had a Chai Latte,” freshman Vaughan Harry was more reluctant to give in to the Chinese coffee mogul. Vaughan admitted that he could not give up his, “favorite drink, the Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino.” This unwillingness to give up Starbucks is something that is echoed by many in the United States, especially due to the controversy surrounding Luckin Coffee.
As the corporation moves ahead with plans to expand their enterprise within America, time will only tell if consumers remain loyal to their beloved Starbucks. For now, though, Luckin Coffee continues to prove a fierce competitor to Starbucks, both within and outside the borders of its founding country of China, and it will be interesting to see how the corporation grows in the future despite its controversial past.
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