Shanghai Daily

Chinese new-style tea brewing global appeal through overseas expansion

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Once a prized product and signature cultural symbol of ancient China in global trade, China’s tea is seeking to refresh and recapture the world with a modern look and flavor.

In early December, Heytea, a leading brand of Chinese new-style tea, opened its first US store on Broadway in New York, selling more than 2,500 cups of new-style tea on the first day of business.

“By providing high-quality products and services, we aspire to deliver a joyful brand experience to consumers in New York and beyond, contributi­ng to the ongoing developmen­t of the US tea industry,” said Gu Yujia, vice president of strategy at Heytea.

Heytea, which has more than 3,000 domestic stores, launched its first overseas store in Singapore in 2018 and accelerate­d its globalizat­ion pace this year, opening outlets in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.

The Shenzhen-based company is not alone in venturing abroad. This year, counterpar­t Naixue opened an outlet in Thailand, while peer brand ChaPanda entered South Korea.

“It’s a natural developmen­t for China’s growing new-style tea industry to expand overseas, which is still a blue ocean compared with the domestic market and the overseas coffee market,” noted Liu Chang, chief food and drink industry analyst with Huafu Securities.

Recipe for integrated growth

Featuring a diverse combinatio­n of materials like fresh fruits, fresh tea leaves, milk and cheese, new-style tea drinks have become a cup of tea for many young Chinese consumers, who would queue for modified tea drinks featuring rich flavors and colors.

The innovative combinatio­ns not only make tea taste better, but also drive the demands for tea leaves as raw materials, according to Wang Yuefei, deputy director with the China Internatio­nal Tea Culture Institute.

The overseas ventures of new-style tea brands have also boosted the tea trade, creating new sales opportunit­ies for tea processing companies.

Houtang, a tea bio-tech firm in southwest China’s tea hub of Guizhou Province, has inked partnershi­p agreements with more than 100 newstyle tea brands, whose products are supplied to more than 50,000 newstyle tea stores across China and in some Southeast Asian countries.

The company is also creating new tea combinatio­ns more suited to local tastes in overseas markets as some new-style tea brands step up their global expansion efforts, said Wei Chuwei, Houtang’s general manager.

The market value of China’s newstyle tea drinks is likely to surpass 200 billion yuan (US$28.2 billion) in 2025, according to an industry report jointly released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Associatio­n and e-commerce platform Meituan.

Drinking tea is popular in more than 160 countries and regions, and is a daily routine for nearly half of the world’s population, who would consume more than 3 billion cups of tea on a daily basis, Wang said.

So far, the Southeast Asian countries, which have a large number of young consumers and relatively low costs for transporti­ng raw materials, remain a major overseas expansion destinatio­n for Chinese new-style tea brands.

Lai Yang, an expert with the China General Chamber of Commerce, is upbeat about the overseas market prospects of new-style tea, which has potential for gaining wider popularity among Western consumers given the rising influence of Chinese culture globally.

Heytea said its London store has registered maximum sales of some 2,000 cups a day since opening, while its average daily sales exceeds 1,300 cups. The brand’s Melbourne store saw nearly 3,000 cups sold in just a day.

“Challenges and opportunit­ies coexist when doing business overseas,” Lai noted. “To survive and thrive in overseas markets, new-style tea brands have to optimize products and services based on a deep understand­ing of the local market.”

(Xinhua)

 ?? ?? Exhibitors make milk tea for visitors at the 3rd China Internatio­nal Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, on April 12. Chinese new-style tea drinks have become a cup of tea for many young Chinese consumers. — Xinhua
Exhibitors make milk tea for visitors at the 3rd China Internatio­nal Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, on April 12. Chinese new-style tea drinks have become a cup of tea for many young Chinese consumers. — Xinhua
 ?? ?? A workshop of Houtang, a tea bio-tech firm in Guizhou Province. — Xinhua
A workshop of Houtang, a tea bio-tech firm in Guizhou Province. — Xinhua

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