He’s challenging Starbucks with a robot-powered cafe chain across China

Instead of ordering at the cash desk, customers scan a code on their phone and pick out their drink. / Photo credit: Ratio

There are no baristas to be seen at a coffee shop called Ratio in downtown Shanghai – and no cash desk queue. To get their caffeine fix, people perform a ritual that has become increasingly common across China: whip out their phones, scan a code at the entrance, place an order, and then pay via their mobile.

The Ratio app lets people customize their drinks.

Then a sleek robotic arm at the coffee station gets to work. It grinds coffee beans, pumps espresso shots and water into a cup, and places the final product on the counter to await pickup.

Then a cheery human waiter brings over a cup of Americano to Gavin Pathross, the founder of this cafe. My nitro cold brew is still being made, the store’s app tells me.

“I’m a big Americano drinker, but Americano is 25 percent espresso and 75 percent water. I like half the water and more espresso – 2.8 shots of the espresso. That’s not called Americano. It’s just a different ratio. And that’s how we named our company, Ratio.”

Photo credit: Ratio

China is seeing a coffee boom. Average coffee consumption per person is expected to grow 18 percent between 2014 and 2019, well above 0.9 percent in the US and 3.5 percent in Japan, according to Statista.

“China’s younger generation has already developed the habit [of holding] a drink in their hands. But it’s not limited to coffee. It can also be milk tea,” Li Yao, partner at Tsing Ventures told Tech in Asia recently at the Forbes Under 30 Asia event in Hong Kong.

Starbucks commands a whopping 51 percent share of China’s coffee chain market, but entrepreneurs believe that there are other consumer needs that the giant hasn’t fulfilled.

One rising star is Luckin. With 525 stores and a robust 30-minute delivery system, it has surged to become China’s first coffee startup to hit US$1 billion in value since it launched last November.

“Starbucks has dominated [China’s] coffee market for a really long time, so the time is ripe for challengers to bring along new offerings, be it a new taste or a new understanding of coffee,” suggests Li.

Automating KFC

Picky punters

How far can robots go?