Luckin Coffee was founded in 2017 and is based in Xiamen, China. Since its inception, the company has expanded to over 20,000 locations across Singapore, Malaysia and China, where it unseated Starbucks in 2023 to become the largest coffee chain brand in the country.

Luckin Coffee Inc., the Chinese chain that overtook Starbucks back in its home market, is turning up the heat with the opening of its first US locations in New York on Monday. The move to open two New York locations brings stateside a growing competition between the Chinese chain and Starbucks Corp.