36Kr has exclusively learned from multiple independent sources that Nowwa Coffee’s 2025 revenue reached RMB 700–800 million (USD 102.8–117.4 million), with profit of about RMB 60 million (USD 8.8 million).
It was a year of rapid expansion for Nowwa. From more than 1,200 stores at the end of 2024, it surpassed 10,000 stores by the end of 2025, making it the fourth coffee brand in China to cross that threshold.
Unlike its rivals, most Nowwa stores use a shop-in-shop model. Nowwa partner Li Lixu recently said publicly that about 80% of Nowwa outlets are shop-in-shops, while around 20% are standalone stores. A shop-in-shop refers to a model that embeds coffee operations inside convenience stores, internet cafes, gas stations, and other locations. Partner stores provide the space and staff, while Nowwa provides materials and equipment. The former earns incremental revenue from the coffee business, while Nowwa profits from ingredient margins.
“For convenience stores, first, they do not need to purchase heavy assets. Second, they can use Nowwa’s online traffic to sell coffee. Third, for some convenience store chains that already had coffee operations but poor sales, it also allows them to reuse idle assets such as coffee machines,” one industry insider told 36Kr.
For Nowwa, lower store opening costs have also become a key factor in breaking through the 10,000-store mark.
But quality control is also the weakness of the shop-in-shop model. Under this model, Nowwa does not hire dedicated store staff. Instead, it uses the convenience store’s existing employees, who can start after training.
Another industry insider pointed to FamilyMart’s self-operated Par Cafe as an example. FamilyMart’s coffee business sells only two categories, Americano and latte, and uses prefilled ice cups. For store staff, the process requires only simple steps such as adding milk and pouring coffee concentrate.
“But Nowwa has more SKUs, including fruit coffee products. With the same convenience store staff operating the business, Nowwa requires them to remember more formulas. And because Nowwa cannot directly manage store staff, quality control and shelf-life risks are greater,” he said.
It is not that Nowwa does not want to add more staff. Its existing cost structure does not allow it. At present, Nowwa settles with franchisees uniformly at beverage cost plus RMB 2 (USD 0.3) and also pays a certain amount of monthly rent. But a person familiar with the matter told 36Kr that the monthly rent Nowwa pays to some convenience store chains is “very low, almost negligible.”
In other words, franchisees earn RMB 2 in profit from each cup of coffee. An employee at a convenience store that works with Nowwa told 36Kr that the store’s daily coffee sales are around 80 cups. At that level, it is not economical for the franchisee to add another coffee staff member. When existing staff are reused, they may struggle to handle concentrated order volumes. On social media, many users have commented on inconsistent product standards at Nowwa.
For coffee brands, shop-in-shops are not new. In 2024, Cotti Coffee also tried the model and once announced an ambitious target of 50,000 stores in three years. But the model soon generated controversy because some stores were roughly operated and locations were chosen casually. Cotti has since suspended shop-in-shop recruitment.
Nowwa also wavered over the shop-in-shop model before committing to it. In 2022, it slowed its shop-in-shop push and tried to expand through standalone franchised stores, but the results were limited. That was also the year China’s RMB 9.9 (USD 1.5) coffee price war began. As competition intensified, entry costs became too high. Amid heavy subsidies and low prices, Nowwa struggled to find expansion opportunities. Only after restarting its shop-in-shop push did it surpass 10,000 stores.
Li once said that, compared with Japan and Taiwan, convenience store coffee already has mature consumption habits. Consumers are buying caffeine and convenience, making it category-driven consumption. In China, however, consumer education around freshly made coffee was largely completed by brands such as Starbucks, so consumption is more brand-driven. This is also one reason convenience stores choose Nowwa rather than operating coffee businesses themselves.
In other words, Nowwa wants to brand convenience store coffee. But to sustain that story, it may have to answer two questions.
First, is the shop-in-shop model inherently at odds with building a branded experience, making it harder to build recognition when users buy incidentally rather than seek out the brand?
Second, in Japan, convenience stores have an infrastructure-like presence and account for more than 65% of freshly made coffee sales, making them the dominant channel. But in China, the main channel for coffee remains grab-and-go stores, with convenience stores serving only as a supplement. Could that limit Nowwa’s ceiling?
If the model is mainly about helping convenience stores earn extra money from coffee, Nowwa may look less like a consumer brand and more like a channel operator.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Zhong Yixuan for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of May 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.