From ‘coffee consumption highland’ to ‘source of coffee culture’: Kunshan keeps cultivating the ‘sweet business’ in coffee

Consumption Daily (reporter Wang Hongsheng) — A thousand-billion-scale coffee hub, a taste of Kunshan. On September 24, the opening ceremony of the 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Exhibition and Kunshan Coffee Industry Development Promotion Conference was held at the Kunshan International Convention and Exhibition Center in Jiangsu. Guests and representatives of leading coffee companies gathered in Kunshan to discuss the international development of the coffee industry, supply chain coordination, and economic, trade and cultural exchanges, sharing opportunities and planning cooperation for the future.

Kunshan has now built a complete industrial chain integrating green bean trading and distribution, platform transactions, R&D and roasting, brand sales and equipment manufacturing. Its coffee industry is mature, highly concentrated in resources and full of growth potential, with strong long-term prospects. This event focused on cross-border green bean trade, joint brand development, industry talent exchange and the integration of cultural tourism and consumption, continuing to deepen two-way exchanges and matchmaking, promoting complementary resources and shared strengths, and helping Kunshan’s coffee industry connect with the international market and pool global resources to become an international specialty coffee hub.

At the opening ceremony, Fan Jianqing, deputy secretary of the Kunshan Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Kunshan, presented the city’s coffee industry development. He said that in recent years Kunshan has actively responded to the national Belt and Road Initiative, built on the broad market prospects of coffee, leveraged its location at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta, and seized opportunities to “create something from nothing, tailored to local conditions,” building a globally renowned coffee industry chain. Kunshan will continue to cultivate the “sweet business” in coffee, using coffee as a medium to connect city and countryside, industry and cultural tourism, work and life, so that “one cup of coffee, one city” becomes Kunshan’s most distinctive urban trait and brightest industrial hallmark. He expressed the hope that more partners will place their beans in Kunshan, land their projects in Kunshan and entrust their dreams to Kunshan, working together to spread the aroma of “Kunshan coffee” around the world and polish the city’s card as an “international capital of the coffee industry.”

In his address, Augusto, Consul General of Brazil in Shanghai, said that Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer and exporter, and coffee culture is deeply woven into every aspect of Brazilians’ daily life, becoming one of the most distinctive markers of their lifestyle. Chinese consumers’ affection for and demand for quality coffee is growing day by day, and there is vast room for China-Brazil coffee trade cooperation. He expressed the hope that the two countries will maintain their friendship and deepen cooperation, forging deep bonds over cups of mellow coffee, continuing to deepen economic and trade exchanges and achieving mutual benefit.

Sha Xiaochuan, executive director of Centurium Capital and director of Blue Bottle Coffee, said that Kunshan has a complete coffee industry support system, and Blue Bottle is more confident about long-term development there. In the future, the company will leverage its global resource advantages and experience in specialty coffee, combine them with Kunshan’s industrial strengths, and bring more coffee professionals and quality projects to Kunshan to jointly develop new products and explore new technologies, delivering a better coffee experience to consumers and contributing to the development of Kunshan as a “coffee capital.”

Blue Bottle Coffee is known as “the Hermès of coffee” and is a globally acclaimed benchmark brand in specialty coffee. Centurium Capital is a globally renowned equity investment institution. In May 2022, its Luckin Coffee Jiangsu roasting base was successfully established in Kunshan, Luckin’s first roasting production base in East China; in June this year, Centurium Capital completed the acquisition of Blue Bottle Coffee’s global business, forming a dual-brand structure of “Luckin + Blue Bottle.” At the opening ceremony, the Blue Bottle Coffee Global Innovation Center project officially landed in Kunshan. In the future, Blue Bottle Coffee will use its high-end brand momentum, cutting-edge roasting techniques and innovative R&D capabilities to further elevate the brand height and global reputation of “making coffee in Kunshan,” leading the city’s entire coffee industry chain toward branding and higher added value.

That day, a group of world champions, international judges and foreign guests with deep coffee credentials were appointed as industry ambassadors for Kunshan, the “coffee capital.” The Kunshan Coffee Industry College was unveiled and an industry-academia-research cooperation alliance was established. The nation’s first batch of SCA barista equivalency vocational skill level certificates was issued. A number of industrial chain projects and industrial financial credit lines were signed. Brand stores of the Penglang Coffee Town moved in collectively. A list of the year’s most popular coffee brands, gold medal coffee beans, outstanding craftsmen and contributing coffee traders was released. The event specially invited the renowned Chinese musician Lu Zhongqiang to create the “Coffee Capital Theme Song” — “Shuimo Kunka” — performed on stage by Kunshan artisans, sounding the urban melody of an “international capital of the coffee industry.”

After the meeting, participants toured the 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Exhibition on site, taking an immersive look at the industrial achievement and specialty experience zones.

The 2026 International (Kunshan) Specialty Coffee Exhibition and Kunshan Coffee Industry Development Promotion Conference ran from September 24 to 26 in Halls A&B of the Kunshan International Convention and Exhibition Center. With more than 20,000 square meters of exhibition space and more than 230 quality brands from 21 countries, coffee, trendy lifestyles and fun experiences were presented together — a coffee festival where visitors could stroll, watch, play, try things out and collect perks.

This year’s exhibition focused on strengthening, supplementing and extending Kunshan’s coffee industry chain. Drawing on mature exhibition resources, it deeply integrated international buyer resources and digital tools with Kunshan’s local industrial advantages to help the city build an “international capital of the coffee industry.” It showcased green beans from international coffee origins, world-renowned coffee equipment and devices, coffee processing and packaging, coffee ingredients and innovative products, and hosted industry trend releases, supply chain forums, cupping and tasting sessions and other professional activities. It also held the China regional qualifier of the World Coffee Roasting Championship (Kunshan division), the China regional qualifier of the World Barista Championship (Kunshan division) and the China regional qualifier of the World Latte Art Championship (Kunshan division), as well as World Coffee Championships advisory panel events and a coffee-themed playground, driving Kunshan’s upgrade from a “highland of coffee consumption” to a “source of coffee culture” and injecting new vitality into the city.