What the Thanks Tea Closure Means for Traditional Coffee and Tea
Thanks Tea, the celebrity-backed tea brand co-invested by host Ma Dong, closed its last store, the Shenzhen Dalang outlet, on July 16, ending its nationwide physical presence. Founded in 2018, the chain once drew crowds with appearances by Ma Dong and the band New Pants and sold milk tea for nearly 70 yuan a cup before prices fell into the 12 to 20 yuan range.
The brand's official Weibo, WeChat account and mini-program have all stopped updating or been discontinued, and its shift to smart milk tea stores brought no recovery. The case echoes a wider pattern for the traditional coffee and tea sector: traffic dividends from celebrity owners fade, while operational weaknesses remain, and baked goods were dropped from the menu entirely.
The tea beverage sector has seen another store closure. Thanks Tea, invested in by well-known host Ma Dong, saw its last remaining store nationwide—the Shenzhen Dalang outlet—cease operations on July 16, completely wiping out its physical presence. This celebrity brand, founded in 2018, once leveraged traffic-driving guests like Ma Dong and the band New Pants for hype, selling a cup of milk tea for nearly 70 yuan, but after the pandemic, prices plunged to the 12-yuan range, all baked goods were removed, and its shift to smart milk tea stores showed no improvement. Its official Weibo, WeChat public account, and mini-program have successively stopped updating or been discontinued. The traffic dividends and operational shortcomings of celebrity-run restaurants have once again become a focal point for the coffee and tea beverage industry.
▲ Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop Multiple media outlets recently reported that Thanks Tea, a tea beverage brand co-invested by well-known host Ma Dong, has closed all its stores nationwide. According to The Beijing News, the only remaining Shenzhen Dalang store of Thanks Tea opened around August last year and officially closed on July 16 this year. At this point, the brand no longer has any physical stores nationwide.
Public information shows that Thanks Tea was founded in 2018, focusing on milk tea and baked products. In its first year, the brand invited traffic-driving guests such as Ma Dong and the band New Pants to visit and try its drinks, quickly rising to fame as an internet-famous brand. Its WeChat public account once described store traffic as "lining up like Beijing Subway Line 10 during rush hour" and emphasized that the brand had "endorsements from numerous celebrities."
(Image captured from Thanks Tea's WeChat public account) Driven by the celebrity effect, Thanks Tea's pricing also climbed steadily, with a single cup of milk tea once selling for nearly 70 yuan. However, under the impact of the pandemic, Thanks Tea's business conditions took a sharp turn for the worse, and product prices were continuously lowered. A limited-edition drink originally priced at 68 yuan dropped to 23 yuan, while other milk tea products fell into the 12 to 20 yuan range. Baked products were initially priced from 18 to 88 yuan, but were later completely cut, and the brand's business shrank to tea drinks only.
In 2022, media reported that Thanks Tea had closed multiple physical stores and attempted to reposition itself in the form of smart milk tea stores. At the time, a relevant person in charge explained that smart milk tea stores could reduce rent and labor costs compared with traditional stores, and the brand intended to set up locations in Beijing, Shanghai, and other places. But the market did not seem to buy into this model. Hongcan.com searched multiple third-party platforms and found no store information related to smart milk tea stores. Southern Metropolis Daily's Bay Finance Society also reported that Thanks Tea's smart milk tea stations in multiple shopping malls had long been withdrawn. At the same time, Thanks Tea's official Weibo stopped updating in April 2021, its official WeChat public account stopped updating in December 2022, and its official mini-program was suspended due to violations.
In recent years, celebrity-run restaurants have become popular spots for fans to check in, but they have also repeatedly sparked controversy online. For example, celebrity Bai Jingting's coffee shop GOODBAI CAFE, although attracting fans to line up and spend, still had the price of two button cookies for 21 yuan discussed by consumers. Another celebrity, Wang Hedi's bakery, also trended on social media because a loaf of toast was priced from 88 to 118 yuan.
The threshold for entering the restaurant industry is relatively low, so celebrities starting businesses often prioritize opening restaurants. With their own traffic and popularity, stores can gather fans and passersby attention as soon as they open, rapidly increasing visibility, and then quickly expand the market through franchising. However, as the operating cycle lengthens, shortcomings in management and operations, product quality control, and service quality will be exposed one by one, and stores will gradually fall into difficulty, ultimately suffering losses or even closing down. It can thus be seen that if celebrity restaurants rely only on the halo effect, it is not easy to establish themselves for the long term. Image source: Internet Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the Internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, there may be individual images or texts that have not yet been credited. Please forgive us. If the original author has any dispute, they may contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reprinting. If there is infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
