Is it really not important whether it tastes good or not?, A slightly tipsy sauce flavored latte

On September 4, the soy sauce latte jointly launched by Ruixing Coffee and Kweichow Moutai officially opened in Ruixing Store. Consumers are placing orders to try new products, and many stores on Luckin Coffee's official mini program have shown as sold out.

At the same time, several related topics such as # Luckin's response to whether drinking Maotai co branded coffee can drive # have made it to the hot search.

After the launch of the new product, many netizens jokingly joked that Luckin "married into a wealthy family". Some netizens also said that the aroma of sauce makes people confused, and coffee makes people sober. Monday is particularly suitable for this state of wanting to be confused but also needing to be sober. After tasting, some consumers also expressed that they will not repurchase.

Industry insiders analyze that this is a new marketing strategy under the highly homogenized and internalized nodes of the fast-moving consumer goods industry, and it is also a behavior of both sides to expand their consumption circle. But it is impossible to achieve the "youthfulness" of a company by relying solely on "one shot" buying and selling.

Bursting orders and scrolling through social media circles

Flavor polarization

After two consecutive days of marketing, on September 4th, Luckin Coffee launched a strategic partnership with Maotai. At the launching ceremony, Ding Xiongjun, secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of the board of directors of Moutai Group, said that each cup of soy sauce latte IIAC gold prize coffee beans as raw materials contains 53 degrees of Kweichow Moutai wine. After hundreds of debugging by professional teams, the perfect integration of strong soy sauce flavor and mellow coffee flavor has been achieved, which can bring double the pleasure of drinking.

Ruixing coffee applet shows that Maotai Latte uses Baijiu flavor thick milk, containing 53 degree Kweichow Moutai liquor, with the alcohol degree less than 0.5%. The retail price is 38 yuan, and a cup of discount is 19 yuan.

The reporter interviewed several consumers who had already tasted something, and their evaluations were polarized. Some people say, "I may like the taste of childhood alcoholic chocolate, which feels quite delicious." "It's a bit tipsy, and after that, it's a breeze."; Some people also say "too sweet" and "very greasy, not tasty".

On Weibo, Black Cat complained and created a small survey on "Is the sauce flavored latte tasty?" As of 21:45 on September 4th, there were 4234 votes for the good, 4517 votes for the bad, and 16000 votes for the still to be tasted.

On the same day, multiple Luckin's stores experienced a surge in orders for sauce flavored lattes. Many consumers reported that they usually take less than 10 minutes to place an order and waited for an hour today. As of 17:00, multiple stores on Luckin's official mini program have shown that the sauce flavored latte is sold out.

In my circle of friends, everyone is also sharing orders for sauce flavored lattes. Some consumers even didn't buy the packaging because they placed the order too late, saying that "the sauce aroma is no longer fragrant.".

Whether it tastes good or not is not important

Only when there is controversy can there be a topic

For the sauce flavored latte with polarized taste evaluations, industry insiders told reporters that whether it tastes good or not is not important. Don't just say it's not good, there is controversy before there is a topic.

This joint launch of a new product can be regarded as a strong joint marketing campaign for Luckin and Maotai.

Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng told reporters that as China's fast-moving consumer goods industry enters a highly homogenized and internalized stage, co branding can give enterprises a more differentiated advantage and highlight the fan effect of various brands. Through cooperation with Luckin Coffee, Maotai can enhance the brand's youthfulness and make its overall product matrix more reasonable; The cooperation between Luckin Coffee and Maotai greatly enhances its comprehensive strength and brand tone in the coffee industry.

Zhuang Shuai, the founder of Bailian Consulting, analyzed to reporters that this collaboration is a good brand opportunity. Maotai and Ruixing have relatively high brand awareness, making them a strong alliance.

At the same time, the user groups of the two have strong complementarity. Maotai's consumer group is mostly the older group, while Luckin has more young users. The two are different categories, and combining can attract each other's consumer groups.

Zhuang Shuai also stated that for Maotai, gaining more recognition from young people can further enhance its visibility among the younger generation. For Luckin Coffee, it is equivalent to gaining recognition from a well-known brand, and its reputation will be further strengthened.

Cultivate the "sauce flavored taste" of young people

Previously, Maotai had already launched a series of products such as ice cream, fruit tea, and milk tea, and the launch of co branded coffee this time is also its re cultivation of young people.

Last year, Maotai and Mengniu jointly produced Maotai ice cream. On May 29th, according to Maotai's official WeChat account, since its first anniversary of listing, Maotai ice cream has sold nearly 10 million cups and has grown into a representative cutting-edge product in its industrial ecosystem.

At the first anniversary celebration of Moutai Ice Cream this year, Ding Xiongjun, Chairman of Moutai Group, said that Kweichow Moutai would increase the research and development of liqueur chocolate, alcoholic drinks, stick sticks, soft ice and other products, and establish a product matrix of different types, different prices, and distinctive features. Recently, Maotai has launched a compact version for the benefit of the people, with a price drop of 29 yuan.

On May 2, 2023, Maotai ice cream made its debut at the Longhua Temple Fair in Shanghai. Photo by Chen Yuyu, China News Agency

Ding Xiongjun once said that Maotai ice cream is not a simple consumer product, but a strategic product. It is an important lever to cultivate the Maotai sauce flavor of young consumers, promote the youthfulness and fashion of the Maotai brand, and seize the future of Maotai by capturing young people. He has also mentioned more than once the need to cultivate a young consumer group, and this "slightly tipsy" 53 degree sauce flavored latte is another attempt to cultivate a young group.

Zhu Danpeng stated that this collaboration is another cultivation of young consumer groups by Maotai, but relying solely on the previous one or two "one shot" transactions is not enough to improve the company's youthfulness problem, and long-term marketing strategies and efforts are also needed.