Luckin Coffee gives wings to tea business

China's delivery-based chain Luckin Coffee on Tuesday said it has turned Luckin Tea into an independent brand that runs its own operations and planned to use franchising to fuel its expansion.

The coffee chain operator launched its tea product Xiaolu Tea in April and is expected to open more stores to grab market share in the hand-brewing tea segment in the country.

Liu Jian, chief operating officer of Luckin Coffee, said the company's tea products have been well received since its launch and they invite "partners", which are different from traditional franchising and licensing, to expand their chains with zero franchising fees and digital operations to control service and product quality so it can reduce investment risks.