Chinese coffee start-up Luckin to enter Greater Middle East, India markets

Chinese coffee chain brand Luckin Coffee has set its sight on global expansion by planning businesses in the Greater Middle East and India markets via a partnership.

Luckin Coffee and Americana Group, the largest integrated food product company in the Middle East, signed a Memorandum of Understanding Monday, which includes a plan to set up a joint venture to launch new retail coffee businesses in the above regions.

View of a cafe of China's new coffee brand Luckin Coffee in Shanghai, China, January 18, 2019. [Photo: IC]

"This collaboration represents Luckin Coffee's first step toward bringing its leading products from China to the world," said Luckin Coffee founder and CEO Jenny Qian.

Founded in 2017, Luckin posted fast expansion thanks to its convenient tech-driven services and affordable quality products. It now operates over 3,000 stores across 40 cities in China.

The company plans to open more than 4,500 stores by the end of 2019 to become China's largest coffee chain.