The tide of price cuts in the tea industry continues. On March 17, Nesher's Tea announced a sharp price reduction, launched a "relaxed series" of 9-19 yuan, and promised to add at least one product below 20 yuan per month, which is also seen as a signal that Naixue will reduce prices for a long time.
Nandu reporter checked The small program of NaiXue learned that after the price reduction, there is no "3-word head" product on the current menu of Naixue, and the previous domineering cheese fresh fruit tea series of about 30 yuan has also been reduced to 2-word head, and 14-25 yuan has become the main price band of Naixue. The highest price difference between products reached 10 yuan, and even a pure tea single product of 9 yuan "Easy Golden Peony" appeared.
Fresh fruit tea new products appear for the first time in the "1 word head" price
It is worth noting that The relaxed series launched by Nai Xue this time has the meaning of "domineering fresh fruit tea" flat and refreshing version. For example, the 19 yuan easy mango corresponding to the domineering mango of 29 yuan, the easy grape corresponding to the domineering grape of the same price difference, etc. For example, easy grapefruit is as low as 18 yuan, and easy duck brown sugar fresh milk tea is 16 yuan. In fact, as early as January this year, Nesher had launched the "Easy Series" as a limited-time event to test the waters.
In this regard, Neixue replied that price adjustment is the brand's in-depth insight into consumer needs, and based on its strong supply chain capabilities, digital capabilities and quality control capabilities, it hopes to provide consumers with easier and richer choices in a wider price band. The "Easy Series" will use high-quality raw materials like other series, continuing the consistent quality.
It is understood that the digital construction of Nesher has begun to bear fruit, self-developed digital systems and equipment have been put into use, and the cost reduction and efficiency increase of operations have gradually emerged. Through the joint construction of tea orchards, digital management and regulation, and strong brand bargaining power, Nesher has compressed the upstream scale cost and provided space for product price adjustment.
The two heads of the new Chinese tea drink seem to have invariably chosen the price reduction strategy in the near future. At the end of February this year, Heytea also announced that it would not launch new beverage products of more than 29 yuan this year, and promised that existing products would never increase in price this year. Products priced at 15-25 yuan account for more than 60% of its total products, and there are also pure tea products as low as 9 yuan. At that time, some industry experts said that Heytea was a "dimensionality reduction blow" before the listing, and the price reduction was more to obtain more customers and occupy more markets. It can be seen that Nai Xue's combination of punches in this round has a certain degree of similarity with Xi Cha.
The price decline provides room for the market to sink
According to the "2020-2021 Chinese New Tea Industry Development Report" released by NCBD (Food Treasure Book), the market share of new tea in mainland China with a unit price of less than 20 yuan in 2021 is 80% higher. For Nai Xue's round of price reduction, Han Yi, secretary general of the Tea and Coffee Special Committee of the China Tea Circulation Association, said: "Under the influence of the epidemic, social consumption habits have changed, not simply consumption downgrading, but 'upgrading in downgrading'. Consumers' demand for 'cost performance' is not simply the pursuit of low prices, performance and quality are still just needed. He believes that Neixue's "easy purchase" is essentially a downward exploration strategy for the price band, providing more space for the market to sink and also catering to the transformation of consumer demand.
Nandu reporter learned that the price reduction of Neixue is also accompanied by the expansion of its stores and the expansion of the city. As of March, Nesher had opened nearly 900 stores in more than 80 cities across the country, and the number of stores was still growing steadily.
In addition to further occupying the customer base in terms of price, Neixue has actually been adjusting the type of store, hoping to reduce labor costs and reach more customers. Nesher's 2021 mid-year financial report shows that the new store-type Nesher PRO tea shop launched at the end of 2020 has fewer restrictions when opening stores, which can better cater to different consumption scenarios and the daily needs of customers. This store type can not only enter shopping malls, but also high-end office buildings, residential communities and so on.
Written by: Nandu reporter Xu Bingqian