Self-developed latte art-enabled coffee robot, Heptun Robotics has been deployed in 4000 scenarios across 70 countries around the world | Overseas Tr

Introduction:

Turning sights to the global market to explore the second growth curve has become a definite direction, but how to expand overseas still tests the wisdom and courage of every Chinese enterprise. Brand globalization, supply chain globalization, cross-border e-commerce... there are numerous paths, yet no one-size-fits-all answer. North America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America... the markets are vast, each with its own unique challenges. Behind every expedition is the in-depth exploration of Chinese enterprises; on every distant coastline, more Chinese participants are emerging.

The "Global Trailblazers" column aims to identify benchmark enterprises that have achieved outstanding overseas performance across different sectors, dissect practical cases from a professional perspective, summarize methodologies through shared consensus, and discover new possibilities from differentiated practices.

Order taking, extraction, latte art, cup serving – the robotic arm completes all these steps seamlessly in less than one minute, and a cup of coffee with custom latte art pattern is delivered through the glass window. At the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing in August 2026, this COFE+ "coffee shop" robotic system from Hetun Robotics, which is about 2 meters high and 1.5 meters wide, attracted wide attention from exhibition visitors.

3D printed coffee produced by COFE+ North America (Texas) customer at a children's hospital site

Founded in 2018, Hetun Robotics is one of the early enterprises in China that entered the coffee robot track. Different from the path of most peers in the industry that "finds applicable scenarios for existing technologies", Hetun Robotics has been deriving technology R&D from actual scenario demands since 2017, and has completed 8 product iterations in 8 years.

In traditional coffee shops, rent, labor cost and decoration amortization account for 60% to 70% of the total cost, and these costs are facing continuous upward pressure. In contrast, the "mobile coffee shop" of Hetun Robotics only requires about 70% of the investment of a traditional coffee shop, while ensuring the same coffee taste and latte art effect.

At present, the products have been deployed in nearly 4,000 sites around the world, including Harvard University in the United States, Massachusetts General Hospital, National University of Singapore, Denver Airport, Kuala Lumpur Airport, Google Headquarters, as well as event venues such as the Davos Forum and the Two Sessions of China, with a total output of 6 million cups of beverages.

Self-developed Robot Components

Customizable Latte Art Patterns

01

When Hetun Robotics decided to develop coffee robots in 2018, its judgment was not based on technical assessment, but on industrial economics logic: "It is not that we are looking for coffee application scenarios for robots, but that the coffee industry itself needs more automated operation methods." said Han Feizi, Co-founder of Hetun Robotics, "We do not simply chase popular technical concepts, but aim to create new productivity that can operate stably for a long time."

He calculated that in the cost structure of coffee shops such as Starbucks and Luckin Coffee, rent, labor cost and decoration depreciation account for 60%-70% of the total cost, and these costs are still rising. At the same time, baristas who can stably produce high-quality latte art generally have high training costs but high turnover rates.

As one of the most industrialized and standardized beverages in the world, coffee has high consumption frequency, mature production processes and quantifiable taste. Tools for processes such as bean grinding, extraction and milk frothing have achieved a certain degree of industrialization, which itself has the industrial foundation for being replaced by robots.

In the first half of 2019, the first prototype of Hetun Robotics was deployed in an office building in Changning District, Shanghai, but many problems emerged after it was put into use: consumers did not know how to operate it, could not tell which cup of coffee belonged to them, and did not know how long they needed to wait after placing an order.

In addition to the insufficient user experience on the market side, there was no ready supporting supply chain available on the production side. In the past, the capping action of takeaway coffee was manually completed by baristas, and there was no market demand for automatic capping machines; the precise proportional control of the syrup machine and ice maker of the robot also needed to be solved.

Therefore, Hetun Robotics had to design modules independently and find factories for production. "Developing components independently is a very tough process, but it will form a solid moat once completed." Han Feizi said, "We have applied for more than 120 patents including invention patents, and formed more than 1,200 technical know-hows and over 2,800 sets of process parameters."

After solving the supply chain problem, Hetun Robotics focused on product iteration and continuously improved user experience. By the sixth generation of products, it already supported latte art and custom printing of any pattern.

Han Feizi introduced: "The success of latte art does not depend on the precision of motion control, but on fluid mechanics. Specifically, robot latte art is realized through fluid mechanics modeling, which calculates the flow, diffusion and stacking rules of milk foam on the surface of espresso, and converts latte art into a set of measurable and computable physical variables. After consumers upload any image or text, the algorithm calculates the corresponding milk flow control parameters in real time, and the robotic arm can generate custom patterns on the coffee surface."

The newly launched seventh-generation coffee robot further optimizes the parameters of bean grinding and extraction, and upgrades the taste on the basis of ensuring the stability of finished products. In the human-machine competition at the Hongqiao Robot Coffee Competition in May 2026, the seventh-generation product was evaluated by professional judges, and its score on the taste dimension was no lower than that of human coffee masters.

Hetun Robotics "coffee shop" site at Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, the Bund, Shanghai

Multiple Sales Modes Available

Investment Cost Equals 70% of That of Chain Coffee Shops

02

At present, Hetun Robotics has deployed more than 4,000 sites around the world, of which only 40 are directly operated stores for product testing and user feedback collection, and other sites are operated locally by B-end partners. "We do not sell coffee robot equipment, but output an overall solution for lightweight robot stores that can achieve stable profitability." Han Feizi said.

Hetun Robotics has 5 cooperation modes with B-end customers, which can be flexibly matched according to customer demands:

Under the agency mode, customers use the brand of Hetun Robotics, and the products are mainly deployed in scenarios such as airports and tourist attractions.

Under the procurement mode, customers purchase the equipment and deploy it in their own properties.

The customization mode is for large brands and Fortune 500 enterprises, customers can use their own brands, and can also adjust the appearance of the robot products.

The leasing mode is for entities that cannot engage in cross-industry operations, such as financial institutions, government agencies, and public institutions.

The joint operation mode is for important scenarios such as landmark buildings, and Hetun Robotics is responsible for investing in the equipment.

Hetun Robotics also integrates the upstream supply chain of raw materials such as coffee beans, dairy products and syrup, adjusts the taste according to different markets and continuously develops new products. In terms of finished product taste and category richness, Hetun Robotics benchmarks against chain coffee brands such as Luckin Coffee. "The essence of a robot coffee shop is still coffee service, and taste is the top priority." Han Feizi said.

In terms of terminal pricing, Hetun Robotics dynamically adjusts the price according to the local per cup coffee price at the site, while keeping the store opening cost at 70% of that of chain brand stores.

Improve Infrastructure in Emerging Markets

Focus on Compliance in European and American Markets

03

As early as 2021, Hetun Robotics started its overseas expansion, and the first intended order was a procurement plan for 50 coffee robots from the organizer of the Dubai World Expo.

At that time, during the epidemic period, personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries required 28 days of quarantine, the equipment customs clearance process was complicated, and the on-site debugging overseas was very difficult. Although participating in the Dubai World Expo might bring losses, Han Feizi decided to overcome all difficulties: "This is a rare opportunity to verify the adaptability of our products in real scenarios in other countries, such as the adaptability under different climate, voltage, payment systems and consumption habits."

Taking this opportunity, Hetun Robotics set up a dedicated overseas team. In the following three years, it launched small-batch products in different countries to test product stability and collect front-line operation data.

The issues to be verified listed by Han Feizi include: in humid countries such as Brazil, what to do if the circuits and materials get damp? In dry and static-prone environments in the Middle East, will the precision sensors be interfered with? In the environment of small shops, small doors and narrow passages in Japan, can the equipment with wheels move in and out freely? Will the different local water hardness and mineral content affect the final taste of coffee?

After the products achieved stable operation in different environments, all national certifications were obtained, and the remote after-sales system was established, Han Feizi judged that the company already had the conditions for large-scale expansion of overseas markets.

Emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East are the first regions that Hetun Robotics entered.

Coffee consumption in these regions is in a growth period with many opportunities, but the infrastructure conditions are relatively "backward". For example, some Middle Eastern countries still use cash as the main payment method, and mobile payment platforms in Southeast Asian countries are independent of each other, which means that when the equipment enters different countries, it needs to connect to multiple different payment systems.

In addition, the communication network in many regions is still at the 2G-4G stage, with unstable network and low speed. Some networks do not support IoT device connection, which directly restricts the normal operation of robot equipment that relies on remote operation and maintenance and data transmission. To solve this problem, Hetun Robotics specially recruited relevant talents and developed a micro-communication system with AI intelligent scheduling, realizing "one device applicable to all regions in the world".

In mature markets such as Europe, America, Japan and South Korea, Hetun Robotics faces another set of difficulties. Although consumers in these markets have good acceptance of unmanned equipment, they also have higher requirements for coffee quality, and the compliance standards are more stringent.

Taking food contact materials as an example, parts that are in direct contact with coffee, milk and water, such as the extraction head, milk pipe, water tank and cup holder, must meet the standards of the US FDA, EU EC1935/2004 and Japan Food Sanitation Law respectively, and pass the migration test to ensure that harmful substances will not enter the beverages.

In terms of equipment cleaning, the milk pipeline system needs a standardized high-temperature disinfection process and traceable cleaning records. Unmanned equipment must also have automatic cleaning and expiration reminder mechanisms; in places with the strictest food hygiene and fire control regulations such as international airports and hospitals, the equipment also needs higher functions such as poison resistance, epidemic prevention and fire protection.

To meet these strict requirements, Hetun Robotics integrates compliance capabilities into the product design stage, rather than making up for relevant certifications after entering the market. The coffee products are benchmarked against the regulatory requirements of professional coffee shops, and the whole chain of operation, consumables and cleaning is traceable, ensuring that the production data of each cup of coffee can be traced to the specific material batch and equipment operation parameters.

As of August 2026, COFE+ of Hetun Robotics has covered 70 countries and regions around the world, and has been deployed in more than 200 international cities.

Han Feizi concluded that the localized adaptation of overseas markets is divided into two levels: the software and content layer including language interface, menu formula, payment method, brand color, latte art pattern and beverage category, which does not affect the equipment structure and is relatively easy to realize.

The interface and compliance layer including voltage, plug, local certification, water circuit, water quality and consumables needs to be adjusted to adapt to local standards, while the core components such as motion control, fluid algorithm and main body of the machine mechanism remain globally unified. "If you make customizations at the bottom of the structure, the enterprise will definitely fall into chaos in the later stage, and huge hidden dangers will be buried in the after-sales system." Han Feizi explained.

In his definition, Hetun Robotics is not a robot company, but a new consumption company. "Hetun Robotics targets the new economy, new formats and new models, and uses robot technology to restructure the cost structure and consumption experience of the traditional coffee business."

In the future, Hetun Robotics will iterate towards the direction of fewer components, more covered categories, better consumption experience and higher intelligence, and its overseas business will further deepen localized and refined operations. "We hope to reinvent the coffee shop and promote coffee consumption to enter the era of lightweight stores." he said.

* All views contained herein are from the interviewed institutions or individuals, for reference only.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Zhejiang Enterprises Overseas Comprehensive Service Port".