LDC, Luckin Coffee team up on juice joint venture

"In the future, Luckin Coffee will further reduce costs to meet the needs of broader consumers and increase their consumption frequency," he added.

James Zhou, LDC global vice-president and regional head for LDC North Asia, said the two sides' areas of expertise are totally complementary, with LDC's know-how in managing a sustainable juice value chain and Luckin's knowledge of the Chinese consumer, marketing and digital platform know-how, and established consumer base.

Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China, said the not-from-concentrate juice category has grown 21 percent in the past 12 months, one of the fastest-growing kinds of beverage sectors, reflecting the country's consumers' pursuit of healthy and nutritious lifestyles. This sector also has high potential given the penetration rate is only 6.3 percent, and given the products' higher requirements on manufacturing, transporting and storage.

"Luckin's massive store network can be a boost to their juice's penetration," said Yu. "Luckin wants to provide a wider range of products to its consumers aside from coffee and tea. NFC juice is a natural extension."