By LU Yibei

Milk-tea chain Mixue recently opened a store in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, attracting large crowds on its first day.

Milk tea costs over HK$30 (27 yuan, US$4) in Hong Kong, about twice as much as in the Chinese mainland. Over there Mixue’s biggest advantage is its price, but the company has lavished cash on the swanky new outlet.

Mong Kok is one of the pricier business centers in already pricey Hong Kong. A similar store of around 40 square meters in the same area was recently let for HK$200,000 per month. Monthly salaries start at HK$15,000 and run up to HK$22,000.

In January of this year, coffee chain Manner opened a store in the World Trade Center, Causeway Bay. Customers complain that the coffee is not cheap enough, only a couple of bucks less than Starbucks. Manner may have been pushed to raise prices due to high local costs. 

When Manner opened its doors in Hong Kong, an Americano was priced at HK$20, and a latte at HK$35. By October, that was HK$30 and HK$40. The pricier hand-brewed coffee is HK$70. Even in Hong Kong, this is not considered cheap.

As mainland coffee and tea chains grow in Hong Kong, coffee for as little as HK$10 will be hard to sustain.