Following Starbucks China and Peet’s Coffee, the coffee market’s capital reshuffle has now turned to Blue Bottle Coffee.
On March 4, according to LatePost, Centurium Capital has won the bid for Blue Bottle Coffee and is set to complete the transaction with Nestlé. In this deal, Centurium Capital will acquire Blue Bottle Coffee’s global stores, while Nestlé will retain its coffee machine and capsule business.
Blue Bottle Coffee was founded in 2002 and is known as the “Apple of the coffee world,” famous for selling only coffee beans roasted within the last 48 hours, emphasizing fresh roasting and hand-brewing, with an average transaction value of around 46 yuan. In 2017, Nestlé acquired a 68% stake in Blue Bottle Coffee for $425 million, valuing the brand at $700 million.
In the same year, Centurium Capital was established. The following year, it became an early investor in Luckin Coffee and led the company’s restructuring in 2020 after Luckin faced a financial fraud scandal. In May 2025, Centurium founder Li Hui assumed the role of Luckin Coffee’s chairman.
Today, Luckin Coffee, led by Centurium Capital, has surpassed 30,000 stores, while Blue Bottle Coffee has grown slowly, expanding from 55 stores at the time to just over 100.
As of February this year, Blue Bottle Coffee has only 15 stores in the Chinese market, distributed in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Zhejiang.
Although this acquisition is directly executed by Centurium Capital, according to Luckin Coffee’s financial report, Centurium and Li Hui (黎辉) hold 23.28% of Luckin Coffee’s shares, controlling over 53% of the voting rights, placing them in absolute control. Therefore, every strategic move aligns closely with Luckin Coffee’s development.
Centurium Capital’s purpose in this move is straightforward: to fill a key gap in Luckin Coffee’s premiumization strategy.
According to Luckin Coffee’s 2025 financial report, the company’s full-year total net revenues reached 49.288 billion yuan, with its store scale ranking first among Chinese coffee chain brands. However, its coffee price range is between 10.9 and 14.9 yuan, long positioned in the mass market with a “value-for-money” label. Since the summer of 2025, intense price wars and rising delivery costs have continually dragged down Luckin Coffee’s profits, challenging its brand ceiling.
Nevertheless, Luckin Coffee is not content with merely capturing office workers’ needs for convenience and affordability; it also refuses to abandon the quality and craftsmanship experiential demands championed by boutique coffee brands like M Stand and Starbucks.
Previously, Luckin Coffee attempted some premiumization initiatives, such as launching the “Little Black Cup · SOE” single-origin espresso product or opening high-end flagship stores. Centurium Capital’s acquisition of Blue Bottle Coffee can be seen as shifting Luckin Coffee from an internal premiumization path to an external expansion approach.
Strategic Rationale Behind the Deal
Luckin has indeed tried premiumization in the past, but its value-for-money label is too deeply ingrained. Incubating a high-end sub-brand internally is extremely difficult and time-consuming, while acquisition trades capital for time, allowing the ‘premium boutique + mass-market value’ combination to arrive more quickly through ‘external reinforcement,’ rapidly filling the missing ‘tower top’ puzzle piece.
Integration Challenges and Future Outlook
Post-acquisition often means the fusion of business DNA. Luckin Coffee’s strengths in digital site selection, store expansion, and standardized management will be injected into Blue Bottle Coffee. However, this is not an easy task.
Different DNAs will bring enormous management challenges. Blue Bottle emphasizes experience, highlighting third-space consumption scenarios; while Luckin is digitally driven, focusing on efficiency. The two systems need to be treated differently from methodology to specific processes; otherwise, blindly focusing on store numbers will only dilute Blue Bottle Coffee’s premium tone.
This acquisition represents new changes for both Luckin Coffee and Blue Bottle Coffee, and whether these changes can propel Blue Bottle into a new phase or enable Luckin Coffee to achieve its premiumization goals will require longer-term validation.
-
-
-
-
