What Does Heytea's Shrinking US Store List Mean for Specialty Coffee?

Heytea's official mini-program now shows 15 US stores across Los Angeles, New York, and Bellevue, down from roughly 35 a month earlier, with about 20 locations quietly removed. At the end of September, reports said the brand planned 42 branches in 13 US cities, but cities such as Boston and San Francisco no longer appear. The company has not explained the change.

One reading is that soon-to-open stores were hidden until renovation and permits were finished, since US milk tea shops can take several months to open against about six weeks in China. Another is that franchise partnerships shifted. The episode matters to specialty coffee watchers because Heytea's US push overlaps with the coffee-forward drinks many cafes now track.

Recently, some netizens noticed that the number of US stores displayed on Heytea's official mini-program had dropped noticeably compared with a month earlier, with nearly 20 stores disappearing from the list. At the end of September, there were reports that Heytea would open 42 branches in 13 US cities, but now only 15 stores across three cities—Los Angeles, New York, and Bellevue—can be found on the mini-program. In response, some believe the company hid soon-to-open stores that had not yet finished renovation to avoid confusing consumers, while others suspect that something changed in the partnership between the brand and its franchisees. What is the truth? This article walks you through the ins and outs of the incident.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

Recently, a netizen posted on social media claiming to have noticed that the number of US stores listed on Heytea's official mini-program had shrunk significantly compared with a month earlier, with about 20 stores quietly disappearing from the list.

According to screenshots provided by the netizen, at the end of September, at least 6 stores in the Los Angeles area were shown on the mini-program, 3 of which were marked as "opening soon." However, by the end of October, only 3 stores were still shown as operating, and the 3 previously soon-to-open stores were no longer on the list.

The netizen also mentioned that at the end of September, there were reports that Heytea planned to open 42 branches in 13 US cities. At that time, the cities where Heytea stores were shown on the mini-program included Boston, San Francisco, and others, but now those cities, as well as the soon-to-open stores, can no longer be found on the mini-program. The page can only show 15 stores across three cities: Los Angeles, New York, and Bellevue.

Regarding this phenomenon, some netizens speculated that Heytea may have temporarily hidden stores that were about to open but had not yet finished renovation from the mini-program.

They said that conditions in the United States are different from those in China. In China, it takes about a month and a half for a milk tea shop to go from renovation to opening, but in the United States, a milk tea shop may have to wait several months before it officially opens. During the preparation period, if unexpected issues such as failing to meet certain permit requirements arise, the opening time can be significantly extended.

Therefore, in their view, these soon-to-open stores "disappearing" may be a deliberate move by the company to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings among consumers, so that fans do not have to keep staring at the list and asking the brand when the stores will open.

But some also speculated that the reason these stores in "opening soon" status are no longer shown on the mini-program may be that something changed in the cooperation between the brand and franchisees.

According to a netizen's sharing of Heytea's US franchise fees, if a partner chooses to open a store in a certain US city, they need to pay the brand a single-store franchise fee, an initial service fee, a deposit, and other fees, and also bear costs such as rent, utilities, renovation, labor, and materials. So for franchisees, the upfront investment to open a Heytea store is not a small sum.

In recent years, domestic tea beverage brands have successively gone overseas and planted flags everywhere, making the overseas tea beverage market increasingly crowded. In some bustling commercial districts, several tea beverage shops of different brands can be seen. Local US netizens said that as more tea beverage brands become available, they no longer buy Heytea products as frequently as before.

Some US consumers also said that certain Heytea stores no longer have the high popularity they had when they first opened and now look rather deserted. Therefore, they believe that perhaps some franchisees, after examining the current actual situation of Heytea in the US market and weighing the pros and cons, chose not to continue cooperating with the brand.

However, many US users on social platforms shared Heytea stores near them that are under renovation or have already been renovated, saying bluntly that fans who saw the sharp drop in store numbers on the mini-program are probably worrying unnecessarily. Although the official mini-program only has specific information for 15 US stores, there are actually quite a few tea beverage stores about to begin operation.

They speculated that one day later on, Heytea may suddenly officially announce the good news that multiple stores are opening simultaneously in the United States, bringing a surprise to local fans.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large volume, some images and texts may not have been credited in time. 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 reposting. If there is infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.