What Does a Freshly Brewed Instant Store Model Look Like?

Xiangpiaopiao's first global offline store recently opened in Hangzhou Hubin. Milk tea is priced at 9 to 12 yuan, and a buy-one-get-one-free opening promotion drew long queues in the cold winter. The preparation method surprised many visitors: staff tear open instant tea bags, brew them separately, then mix them with powder and toppings, a model netizens called hand-brewed instant milk tea.

That approach contrasts sharply with mainstream freshly made tea beverage brands and has sparked discussion about the value of brewed coffee powder and instant products versus freshly made milk tea. Whether Xiangpiaopiao can win over picky milk tea drinkers with emotional value remains to be tested by the market. The company had earlier been spotted recruiting store staff and hoarding a Hangzhou storefront before confirming the opening.

Xiangpiaopiao's first global offline store recently officially opened in Hangzhou Hubin. Milk tea priced at 9 to 12 yuan, combined with a buy-one-get-one-free opening promotion, attracted a large number of consumers to line up in the cold winter to try it out. However, the store's preparation method surprised many people—staff were not shaking tea drinks on-site, but instead tearing open instant tea bags, brewing them separately, and then mixing them with调配 powder and toppings, which netizens jokingly called "hand-brewed instant milk tea." This model forms a sharp contrast with mainstream freshly made tea beverage brands and has also sparked widespread discussion about the value of instant products versus freshly made milk tea. Whether Xiangpiaopiao can win over picky milk tea lovers with emotional value remains to be tested by the market.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Works

Not long ago, some netizens discovered on a recruitment platform that Xiangpiaopiao was recruiting milk tea shop employees. At the same time, passersby also photographed the hoarding of Xiangpiaopiao's offline store by Hangzhou West Lake. These clues led many onlookers to begin speculating whether Xiangpiaopiao was preparing to open a physical store.

At the time, Xiangpiaopiao officially made no response to these online rumors. Until today, netizens' various guesses finally received the most direct official answer—Xiangpiaopiao's first global store has officially opened to customers.

According to feedback from fans who visited the store as soon as it opened, this store is located in Hangzhou Hubin and offers a variety of milk tea products, with prices ranging from 9 to 12 yuan. Compared with milk tea in the tea beverage market that often costs more than twenty yuan a cup, Xiangpiaopiao's store pricing appears quite down-to-earth.

In addition, with the "buy one get one free" promotion launched on opening day, a large number of customers attracted by its reputation poured in front of the store, lining up in the cold winter wind just to buy a cup of hot milk tea.

However, a netizen followed the line into the store and ordered on-site. While waiting to pick up the drink, they noticed that the staff behind the counter did not, like employees at other milk tea shops, pick up a shaker and repeatedly shake it. Instead, after taking the order, they first took out a cup of instant milk tea, steeped the tea bag separately in hot water for 3 minutes, and after the tea was brewed, stirred it evenly with the调配 powder and toppings already placed in the cup.

This operation surprised many people. Some said that when they heard the store was selling "whole-leaf freshly brewed light milk tea," they had assumed it would be freshly made milk tea like chain brands such as Chagee and Heytea. They did not expect that after lining up for more than an hour, what they got was a cup of hand-brewed instant milk tea.

"I thought it was fresh milk tea, but it turned out to be this... Do I not have hands to brew it myself?" "I might as well buy it myself and brew it at home." "Isn't it enough to just boil a pot of hot water?" "Is this similar to that auntie who sold Nescafe instant coffee for 10 yuan a cup? Is coffee brewed by someone else a little tastier than brewing it yourself?"

In response, some fans who follow Xiangpiaopiao pointed out that before the global first store opened, the brand had opened a pop-up store in Huzhou in October this year, attracting many tourists to check in and buy a cup of milk tea to relive the taste in their memories. At that time, the pop-up store used this hand-brewed milk tea preparation method, and judging from the market response at the time, consumers were not very resistant to Xiangpiaopiao's approach, and even found it quite novel.

However, when an offline milk tea shop enters a first-tier city like Hangzhou, consumers who are used to various freshly made fresh milk teas will inevitably find it somewhat hard to accept when they see staff tearing open packaging on the spot and making instant milk tea. They feel they could simply buy discounted products on e-commerce platforms and boil water at home to brew them, and there is no need to make a special trip to the store to line up and wait.

In addition, many netizens also feel that although Xiangpiaopiao milk tea can provide emotional value, when it comes to the product itself, consumers have their own judgment about which is better or worse between instant products and freshly made milk tea. Whether Xiangpiaopiao's offline milk tea shop can be accepted by "picky" milk tea lovers still needs time to verify.

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 author's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, 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 Works." 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.