M Stand Sells Burgers, Cotti Sells Fried Chicken: Are Coffee Brands Heading to Be the Next Wallace?

At a Glance (China Coffee Network): Cotti Coffee (hereinafter “Cotti”) has started selling fried chicken. Recently Cotti has been testing “fresh-draft beer” and “fresh-fried snacks&rdqu…

Cotti Coffee (hereinafter “Cotti”) has started selling fried chicken. Recently Cotti has been testing “fresh-draft beer” and “fresh-fried snacks” at a self-operated store in Ningde, Fujian. The store currently sells four beer styles—German wheat, Belgian wheat, passion-fruit beer and grapefruit beer—with single-cup prices between 9.9 and 11.9 yuan on the mini-program; the fried range covers fries, oyster mushrooms, chicken nuggets, pork rinds and onion rings, priced 6.9 to 12.9 yuan.

This is not an isolated case. M Stand has opened 9 handmade-burger stores, and Tims China has launched fried-chicken items in its coffee stores. Tims China has long run a “coffee + warm food” model and operates Popeyes China, further building Western fast-food supply-chain and operating experience.

Some netizens joke: is the end of coffee brands “Wallace”? Coffee shops selling burgers and fried chicken is expanding from individual pilots into a collective exploration by some brands. So why are coffee brands crossing into food now, collectively?

On one hand, as store density keeps rising, the points of competitive contact multiply. Using Luckin and Cotti as examples, data from Yilan Business shows that in the Hangzhou market, two stores in Haichuang Science Park are less than 50 meters apart; at Baolong Plaza in Future Sci-Tech City they open on the same floor; around Sandun and Haichuangyuan metro stations they are laid out in sync.

On the other hand, many tea-drink brands have started selling coffee, using ready store networks and supply chains to compete with coffee brands for the same consumers. Molly Tea launched coffee series twice within five months; Guming has equipped about 13,500 stores with coffee machines; Chabaidao coffee machines cover over 2,700 stores; Mixue has rolled out coffee machines to about 6,000 stores.

Therefore, for coffee brands, the cost of relying on opening more stores for growth is rising, and how to raise the product richness and purchase frequency of existing stores becomes another option. Burgers and fried chicken are trials in this direction.

First, burgers and fried items are easier to standardize than other meals; stores can reduce plating complexity through semi-finished products, reheating or shorter prep flows. Second, such food pairs well visually with coffee and generates discussion on social platforms. Taking M Stand’s handmade burgers as an example, Xiaohongshu data shows that as of October 10, 2026, the M Stand burger hashtag has 468,000 views and 2,194 discussions. Finally, adding food extends the consumption window. Compared with coffee’s main coverage of breakfast, commute and afternoon-tea occasions, burgers and fried items have stronger meal attributes, further capturing lunch, dinner and even late-night consumption.

Combined coffee-and-burger/fried sales also help raise average ticket. Dianping shows M Stand ordinary-store coffee average ticket is 34–36 yuan, while handmade-burger stores’ burger average is about 50 yuan, an increase of over 40%.

For most coffee brands, food is a relatively unfamiliar category; entering this track mainly relies on two paths. One is using mature food suppliers to lower the cross-category threshold. Cotti has partnered with Longda Food, a sausage supplier; Longda confirmed on an investor platform that it mainly supplies Cotti with sausage products, and the two sides’ cooperation sales have exceeded 20 million yuan. The other path is capital acquisition. M Stand acquired Shanghai dining brand RAC BAR to build up catering operations; Tims China also completed its acquisition of Popeyes China in 2023, gaining exclusive operating, store-opening and franchise-expansion rights for Popeyes in mainland China and Macau.

But for more brands, whether food can embed into existing store operations is mainly constrained by two factors. First, the odor from food may change the original environment experience. After Mega MGC in Korea piloted fried chicken, some consumers reported heavier cooking smoke and covered coffee aroma. If coffee stores introduce frying, brands must re-handle ventilation, equipment placement and prep flow per specific method. Second, labor and plating efficiency affect whether the new category can spread costs. Frying lengthens the store operation chain, adding prep, cleaning, training and scheduling complexity. On social platforms, self-identified coffee-store employees say that after adding oven products, closing requires waiting for equipment to cool before cleaning, extending wrap-up time; different products’ heating parameters also raise operating requirements.

From “selling coffee” to “selling burgers and fried chicken,” coffee brands are testing new category boundaries. This round of collective crossover is not to become “Wallace,” but to find single-store growth that does not depend on opening new stores, against a backdrop of denser stores and intensifying competition from tea-drink brands crossing over. But whether food and coffee can complement each other, whether store operations can support the new category, and whether consumers are willing to pay for coffee-shop burgers and fried chicken, remain to be seen.

Reprint Notice & Disclaimer

1. This article has been edited and compiled by China Coffee Network. The information and images therein come from public sources and the copyright belongs to the original author. This reprint is intended solely for information sharing within the coffee industry and does not represent the views of this website; all data and opinions are subject to the original article. Our thanks to the original author for creating and sharing it.
2. For matters concerning content licensing, attribution, copyright or otherwise, please contact us promptly and we will verify and cooperate in handling them as soon as possible. We also welcome coffee origins, brands and industry media to exchange ideas and contribute articles.
3. Contact China Coffee Network: Tel 400-0000-641 (+86-18288016826) | Email 405854472@qq.com | Address: Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province / Tieling, Liaoning Province