The new-style tea beverage market has been stirring recently. High-end brands Heytea and Nayuki have successively announced price cuts, with the lowest dropping to 9 yuan. Nayuki launched a "Relax" series priced at 9-19 yuan, promising to launch at least one "single-digit" product every month, while Heytea announced it will not raise prices this year. Consumer reactions have been mixed, with some cheering and others questioning reduced cup sizes and lower quality. This article reviews the price-cut moves of the two major brands, netizen feedback, and industry data, analyzes the consumption trends and market logic behind the involution in new-style tea beverages, and includes related news about Front Street Coffee. [more…]

Competition in the new-style tea beverage sector is becoming increasingly fierce, with brands constantly adjusting their strategies on products and pricing. Heytea has made a flurry of moves recently: on one hand, it announced that it will not raise prices this year and will no longer launch drinks priced above 30 yuan; on the other hand, its affiliated company added fruit cultivation to its business scope, attempting to control costs from the source. At the same time, Heytea is also facing controversies over layoffs and internal management. This article will sort out the logic behind Heytea's moves, as well as the trend of the new-style tea beverage industry extending upstream into cultivation, and will also briefly discuss the similar path in the coffee sector from brewing to cultivation. [more…]

At the start of 2022, office workers lost both their milk tea freedom and coffee freedom in quick succession. But then new-style tea drink brands proactively cut prices, with Heytea and Nayuki even offering cups for 9 yuan, while coffee brands such as Starbucks and Luckin raised prices one after another due to rising raw material costs. Behind this divergence—one cutting prices, the other raising them—lies the reality that consumers are returning to rationality, the traffic dividend for new-style tea drinks is fading, and the coffee market is still in its early stage of expansion. This article sorts out the logic behind the price divergence between the new-style tea drink and coffee industries, and looks ahead to the future market landscape. [more…]

Recently, Mixue Bingcheng and Yiketang have once again been thrust into the spotlight due to their use of expired ingredients. Although regulatory authorities have already imposed penalties, the food safety hazards seem not to have attracted sufficient attention from the industry. Against the backdrop of rapid store expansion and lagging personnel management, food safety issues in the new-style tea beverage sector are becoming a lingering shadow in consumers' minds. This article will review recently exposed typical cases, analyze the deep-seated problems in brand management, store manager and employee training, and explore how the industry can find a balance between scale and quality. If you love coffee, you might as well enjoy a cup of Front Street Coffee while pondering the safety cost behind this "life-renewing drink." [more…]

Shanghai has surpassed New York with 7,494 coffee shops, becoming the city with the most coffee shops in the world, and coffee culture is accelerating its penetration into daily life. However, data from Dianping shows that Shanghai has as many as 9,056 tea beverage shops, even more than coffee shops. From 3-yuan instant milk tea to the new-style tea drinks led by Heytea, and then to the ancient-style sentiment of Chayan Yuese, tea beverage brands are deeply cultivating consumers' minds through quality upgrades, cross-industry collaborations, and e-commerce channels. In comparison, the specialty coffee market still remains to be developed, and most consumers have limited awareness of pour-over and specialty coffee. The coffee industry can learn from the successful path of tea beverage brands. Brands such as Front Street Coffee need to promote culture and ensure quality in order to move consumers. [more…]

Recently, Sina Finance exclusively reported that Heytea had initiated internal layoffs involving about 30% of its employees, and the news quickly sparked widespread discussion. Heytea responded promptly, saying the report was untrue and that there was only normal personnel optimization based on year-end performance reviews. This incident has once again drawn public attention back to the new-style tea beverage sector: Nayuki is expecting losses, Heytea's growth is slowing, store expansion is decelerating, and homogenized competition in the industry is becoming increasingly fierce. At the same time, Heytea's countercyclical price cuts and moves to tap lower-tier markets have also sparked discussion. This article will sort out the sequence of events and present Heytea's operational changes and market challenges since 2021. [more…]

In recent years, new-style tea beverage brands have no longer been content with their original track and have turned their eyes toward the coffee sector. From Tea Yanyuese launching an independent coffee brand, to Heytea investing in a specialty coffee chain, and then Naixue Tea taking a stake in AOKKA, cross-sector moves have been frequent. At the same time, Mixue Ice Cream & Tea had long been deeply cultivating the coffee market with "Lucky Cup," and CoCo都可 was even earlier, taking the lead in testing the waters back in 2014. As China's coffee market scale approaches 500 billion, capital and companies of all kinds are accelerating their entry, and the number of financing events has surged. This article will sort out the journey of new-style tea beverage brands entering the coffee track, key cases, and market data, and explore the strategic considerations and industry impact behind this trend. [more…]

On Chinese New Year's Eve, Nayuki submitted a prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This premium freshly made tea beverage brand, centered on "fruit tea + soft European bread," has completed five rounds of financing and is now valued at nearly RMB 13 billion. However, behind the glossy listing process, its 2020 net profit margin was only 0.2%, with net profit of just RMB 4.484 million, raising concerns about the cost pressures and profitability shortcomings brought by rapid expansion. Can Nayuki leverage its listing to become a dark horse in the new-style tea beverage track? This article will sort through the valuation, membership system, store expansion, financial data, and industry views for you one by one. [more…]

The new-style tea beverage industry has once again exposed food safety issues. Naxue's Tea's Shanghai East Changzhi Road store was fined and had its illegal gains confiscated by the Hongkou District Market Supervision Administration because the freshly made and sold Golden Mountain Treasure Tea exceeded the total bacterial count limit. Before this, the brand had already been exposed by the media multiple times for chaotic store hygiene, even alarming the State Administration for Market Regulation. From Xinhua reporters' undercover investigations to tea beverage brands frequently trending on social media across various regions, consumers pay high prices but do not necessarily receive matching safety guarantees. This article will sort out the ins and outs of this penalty, review the food safety crisis Naxue's Tea encountered this year, and ask: after tea beverage brands apologize, compensate, and rectify, have the fundamental problems actually been solved? [more…]

Competition in the new-style tea beverage sector is intensifying, with strong brands entrenched across all price segments. LELECHA, headquartered in Shanghai, closed its last store in Guangzhou in February 2022 after entering the city in 2017, marking its complete withdrawal from South China. Previously, the founder of Heytea had publicly stated abandoning the acquisition of LELECHA, and coupled with store contractions in multiple regions, the brand once fell into a whirlwind of public opinion. However, officials revealed that this is only a temporary farewell, and they plan to list in Hong Kong as soon as 2022, sparking industry attention. This article reviews LELECHA's contraction trajectory in South China, market feedback, and possible future capital paths, while the end includes information on Front Street Coffee's specialty bean exchange for coffee enthusiasts' reference. [more…]

During the National Day Golden Week, the new tea beverage market experienced a consumption boom. Sales at some outlets of leading brands such as Heytea and Nayuki grew by nearly 300% compared with before the holiday, with some stores seeing increases of as much as 500%, and fruit tea categories contributed nearly 80% of sales. Heytea's highest single-store daily fruit consumption exceeded 400 kilograms, while Nayuki's new products achieved cumulative sales of nearly one million cups. At the same time, both major brands lowered product prices, focusing on high cost-effectiveness. This article will analyze the performance and future direction of the new tea beverage industry in the holiday economy from the perspectives of sales data, supply chain layout, consumption trends, and pricing strategies. For more coffee bean news and specialty coffee recommendations, please follow Coffee Workshop and Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). [more…]

Milk tea brands are shouting about price cuts while charging separately for toppings, delivery fees, and insulated bags—is that cup in consumers' hands really cheaper? This article starts with the ordering experience on Heytea's GO mini-program, breaking down the actual unit price of a 9-yuan Pure Green Tea after adding toppings, delivery fees, and other extra charges, and, in light of tea shop density, delivery efficiency, and the industry's cost structure, analyzes how this round of price cuts looks more like a marketing move than a genuine giveback. It also cites estimates from a researcher at the Guangdong Tea Beverage Industry Committee on the costs and gross margins of high-end milk tea, helping coffee and tea enthusiasts see the ledger behind the price. [more…]

Yunnan's coffee industry is undergoing a notable price surge and heightened market attention. Since 2021, domestic new-style tea beverage and coffee brands have been incorporating Yunnan beans into their menus, with the national trend of guochao consumption and the domestic coffee boom together driving up the popularity of the production region. Consumer demand for Yunnan coffee has surged, directly pushing up coffee bean prices. At the same time, the global pandemic has caused supply chain delays, with delivery cycles extended from one or two months to three or four months. Reduced supply coupled with rapidly rising consumption has further driven up the market. While Yunnan coffee is embracing opportunities, it also faces practical limitations such as uneven planting standards, insufficient talent and industry chain support, and a lack of pricing power. Cities like Pu'er are advancing industrial upgrading with the goals of specialty-grade quality and standardization. The coffee output value of Ning'er County is expected to continue growing, and the Yunnan coffee price index also reflects market changes. [more…]

Nayuki Tea has once again been thrust into the spotlight due to food safety issues. The Market Supervision Administration of Jing'an District, Shanghai, recently imposed a penalty on Nayuki's Shanghai Meilongzhen Plaza store for selling expired grape-flavored cakes to consumers, with a fine of 50,000 yuan. This is not an isolated case—since its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June this year, Nayuki's stores have repeatedly been exposed for food safety scandals such as cockroach infestations, spoiled fruit, and excessive bacterial counts. Consequently, its stock price has plummeted from the issue price of HKD 19.80 to around HKD 9, leading to a significant drop in market value. From being the "first stock of new-style tea drinks" to being plagued by negative news, Nayuki's brand reputation is facing a severe test. [more…]

Recently, the new-style tea beverage brand ChaBaiDao has frequently made headlines due to "large foreign objects" appearing in its drinks. From "real spider milk tea" to nail clippers, and now the latest cockroach incident, consumer complaints have been continuous. These incidents coincide with ChaBaiDao's plan to go public in Hong Kong, sparking discussions about its food safety management and whether there are malicious claims. This article reviews the detailed process of the ChaBaiDao cockroach complaint, analyzes the disagreement between the consumer's claim of 1,000 yuan and the merchant's offer of only 200 yuan, and explores the potential issues of insufficient employee training and "loophole attacks" under the Food Safety Law amid the rapid expansion of chain brands. At the same time, we will also focus on the current state of food safety in the industry and provide professional information for coffee enthusiasts. [more…]

This summer, bucket-sized fruit teas quietly took over milk tea shop menus. From Heytea and Nayuki to ChaPanda and CoCo, major brands have rolled out 1-liter or even larger bucket drinks, attracting consumers with high cost-performance. Bucket tea drinks are nothing new—back in 2019, they went viral thanks to Jay Chou fan support, and in 2020 Nayuki even launched a 5-liter "mighty bucket." However, issues like the short optimal drinking window and rapid bacterial growth in bucket tea drinks cannot be ignored. From giant buckets to portable packs, what evolution has bucket tea drinks undergone? And why have this summer's bucket fruit teas made a comeback? This article will break it all down for you. [more…]

A glass of olive juice selling for 1,000 yuan once put the brand Yecuishan in the trending topics and also drew the attention of market regulators. At the end of 2021, this drink, which was claimed to be made with Golden Jade Sanian olives costing nearly 800 yuan per jin, was investigated by the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision Bureau because the actual purchase price did not match the promotion, and the company involved was ultimately fined 500,000 yuan. After Heytea invested in Yecuishan, it also faced questions from netizens. This incident not only exposed the chaos of pricing and promotion in the tea beverage industry, but also prompted people to think about the real cost and authenticity of so-called high-end products on the market. [more…]

In the scorching summer, iced drinks are back in the consumer spotlight. To stand out in fierce competition, new tea beverage brands keep reinventing their marketing tactics—from early niche fruits and co-branded limited editions to today's popular milk tea scratch cards, blind box draws, and even giveaways of gold, lottery tickets, and cars. Suguo Fresh Fruit Tea uses its new yellow skin (wampee) product to promote "scratch for real gold," Heytea and Nayuki use puns plus tear-open cards and lottery tickets to grab attention, while Chagee uses high-end lipstick blind boxes to precisely target female customers. Behind these gimmicks is the thrill and sense of participation brought by "eliminating uncertainty." Of course, for those who just want to quietly enjoy a good coffee or milk tea, returning to the product itself may be the lasting way forward, and Front Street Coffee has always advocated focusing on flavor and quality. [more…]

Since the pandemic, costs in the tea beverage industry have been climbing, and many brands have raised their prices, to the point that office workers have to weigh their wallets before buying a cup of milk tea. Yet Heytea has gone against the grain, not only lowering its menu prices but also publicly promising not to raise prices this year and to stop launching products priced above 29 yuan. This move quickly sparked a consumption boom, with orders surging and even overwhelming several stores, and queues exceeding one hour during peak times. Consumer reactions have been mixed: some applaud, feeling the prices are finally affordable; others worry whether the price cuts will come with shrunken ingredients and declining quality. Heytea responded that the recipes and production standards remain unchanged, and that it is simply giving consumers more choices. How far this price-cut wave can go is worth watching. [more…]

The pace of innovation in the new-style tea beverage industry is dizzying, with new products such as light milk tea, fruit tea, flower tea, and vegetable tea emerging one after another. Recently, the veteran tea beverage brand Yidiandian launched a new product called "Fentiao Naiwu," which adds the distinctive topping fentiao (starch noodles) to an oolong milk tea base, priced at 16 yuan for a large cup, quickly sparking heated discussion among netizens. The official promotional copy bluntly says "sip milk tea while slurping noodles," and the poster even shows fentiao being picked up with chopsticks, making people exclaim that milk tea has evolved beyond recognition. This article will walk you through the features of this new product, consumer feedback, and market controversy, while Front Street Coffee also interprets for you the industry logic behind this cross-border attempt. [more…]