让增长被看见，让运营被尊重——首届“来咖杯”金奖咖啡运营主理人挑战赛在沪启动

Brief (coffeeyo.com): On September 19, the inaugural “Lai Ka Cup” Gold Coffee Operations Manager Challenge launched in Shanghai. Unlike contests built around latte art or cupping, this one puts the often-overlooked store operations manager in the spotlight — because when discounts and subsidies lose their edge, turning good product into good business is what keeps a brand alive.

On the afternoon of September 19, the launch ceremony of the first “Lai Ka Cup” Gold Coffee Operations Manager Challenge was held at the Shanghai headquarters of Lyfen. Representatives from the guiding unit (the Yangtze River Delta Coffee Industry Association), the organizer (Shanghai Free Trade Zone Coffee Exchange), the all-round strategic supporter (Lyfen’s coffee brand Lai Ka), as well as event sponsors, a professional judging panel, and team-captain representatives gathered to witness the official kickoff.

Let Growth Be Seen: Operators Step to the Front

The spotlight of this competition was not pointed at latte-art skills or bean appraisal, but at the store operations managers who have long stayed behind the scenes. In the past year, China opened 53,000 new coffee stores but saw a net increase of only 1,065. When price cuts and subsidies stop working, the ability to turn a good product into a good business becomes the key to survival.

Ding Shan, chairman of the Yangtze River Delta Coffee Association and of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone Coffee Exchange, said bluntly: “Past competitions focused more on barista technique, but in the end the industry’s competition is a competition of operational capability.”

Let Operations Be Respected: Full-Chain Competition Tests Real Skill

As a supporting event of the 2026 CIIE International Coffee Exhibition, the competition runs from September through November, stringing three scenarios — livestreaming and seeding, delivery-platform operations, and in-store management — into a complete chain, with over 20 real stores serving as the arena. To ensure fairness and transparency, the organizing committee formed a professional judging panel that stays on-site at the stores throughout, and the scoring data comes from the sales system, delivery platforms, and livestream verification — fully traceable.

Representing the judging panel, Li Dazhi said: “We will use real store performance as the only yardstick, so that every unit of growth is verifiable and operational capability stands up to scrutiny.”

Observers noted that this full-chain assessment is a first in China’s coffee industry, and it answers exactly the question brands are trying to solve: how to turn traffic into retention, and a hit product into a lasting bestseller.

Let Warmth Be Passed On: A Cup of Tea-Coffee Carries Goodwill

As the all-round strategic supporter, the identity of Lai Ka — the coffee brand under Lyfen — is rich with meaning. Founded in 1999, Lyfen has served over 900 million customers worldwide. Lai Ka tested freshly ground coffee in 2021 and upgraded to an independent brand in 2023, covering more than 650 stores across Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, building a “coffee + snacks” dual-scenario advantage. Wu Xiuyuan, head of the Lai Ka project, said the brand’s investment in the event is an attempt to use real stores as a laboratory to explore a community-coffee operating methodology.

The event also carries a public-welfare dimension: part of the proceeds support campus construction for rural children in Yunnan. More than 450 Lai Ka stores have taken part in the “Warmth of a Cup of Coffee” charitable activity; embedding charity into the competition adds a measure of warmth to commercial competition.

As operations move from behind the scenes to center stage, this event is using a platform mindset to integrate industry resources — leaving behind not just a set of data, but a group of recognized operations managers, a replicable body of experience, and a stream of goodwill flowing toward Yunnan.

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Reprint Notice & Disclaimer

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.
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.
Contact China Coffee Network: Tel 400-0000-641 (+86-18288016826) | Email 405854472@qq.com | Address: Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province / Tieling, Liaoning Province