The first batch of Internet celebrity milk tea is quietly disappearing, why are Internet celebrities not popular?

In the current market, milk tea can be said to be quite popular, and even as a part of Chinese pop culture, milk tea shops have become popular around the world.

1. Is the first batch of Internet celebrity milk tea quietly disappearing?

According to a report by Guangming.com, "The taste of strawberry mochi can only remain in my memory, and there is no bubble tea shop like you again." Recently, many netizens have posted on social platforms, nostalgic for the milk tea they once loved but gradually disappeared.

It's about the new tea drink brand "Fu Xiao Peach". At its peak, there were two or three hundred stores in the country, and Internet celebrity milk tea, which was once known as the "king of queuing", and now there are less than 30 stores left in business.

Taking raw materials as the standard, the industry roughly divides the milk tea industry into three stages of development: the first generation of tea is the 1.0 "powder era" based on non-dairy creamer, the second generation of tea is the 2.0 "street era" where fresh milk and fruit tea appear, and the third generation of tea is the 3.0 "new tea stage" based on raw leaf tea base + fresh milk and fresh fruit.

Not long ago, the topic of "I feel like I'm slowly withdrawing from the milk tea industry at 1 o'clock" appeared on the hot search, and this old Internet celebrity brand, which was a smash hit around 2017, closed stores in many places. Although some loyal fans started the "1 o'clock defense war" before, and some brands officially refuted the rumors that they did not go out of business, but in recent years, it is also true that nearly 1,000 stores have been closed at 1 o'clock and their business has been affected by other brands.

Similarly, the old wave of non-dairy creamer brewing brands such as CoCo Duke, Gong Cha, and Happy Lemon have faced an impact, and the "fresh milk tea" with cream top, pure milk, little ingredients, and paying attention to the original leaf tea base has been sought after, and new Internet celebrities have also begun to compete with the old brands.

The last time the industry ushered in widespread attention was at the beginning of 2024, when Mixue Bingcheng Ancient Tea submitted a prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the same day. Following the landing of Nai Xue's tea on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2021, the competition for the "second share of new tea drinks" is becoming increasingly fierce.

2. Why are Internet celebrities not popular?

In the past few years, Internet celebrity milk tea has become a fashion trend among young people, and various milk tea brands have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain and quickly occupied the market. However, as time goes on, we find that the first batch of influencer milk teas are quietly disappearing, and those brands that were once all the rage are gradually fading out of sight. So, why is Internet celebrity milk tea in decline?

First of all, the influencer economy is a new economic model that has emerged in recent years, which is based on the Internet and disseminated and marketed through various social media platforms, which quickly attracted a lot of attention and consumption. However, one of the distinguishing features of this economic model is its high degree of uncertainty and transience. On the one hand, due to the extremely fast speed of information dissemination, a new product or brand can quickly become popular in a short period of time and attract a large number of consumers, on the other hand, consumer preferences and concerns are constantly changing, and once a new and more attractive product or brand appears, the old influencer product or brand may be quickly forgotten and eliminated.

For the first batch of online celebrity bubble tea shops, they may have quickly become popular with their unique flavors, novel packaging or innovative marketing methods, attracting a large number of consumers. However, with the passage of time, consumers' tastes and needs are also constantly changing, and new bubble tea shops and new milk tea varieties are constantly emerging, making these former Internet celebrity bubble tea shops gradually lose their competitive advantage and be eliminated by the market.

Secondly, in the early days of their rise, the first batch of online celebrity milk tea brands often relied on low-price strategies and unique tastes to attract consumers, but in the current era of increasing health awareness, consumers are no longer satisfied with "delicious" or "cheap", but pay more attention to product quality, raw material safety and nutritional content. In the face of the diversification and refinement of consumer demands, many online celebrity milk tea brands have failed to adjust their product positioning in time, conform to market demand, and rely too much on traditional formulas with high sugar content and many additives, thus losing the favor of consumer groups who pay more and more attention to quality of life and health.

Third, with the continuous expansion of the milk tea market, the competition is becoming more and more fierce. On the one hand, new bubble tea shops and new milk tea varieties are constantly emerging, making the market more competitive, and on the other hand, consumer needs are also constantly changing, and the requirements for products are getting higher and higher. In this case, even the former Internet celebrity bubble tea shop can easily be eliminated by the market if it cannot adjust its strategy in time and keep up with the pace of the market. In addition, due to the large profit margins of the milk tea market, it has attracted a large number of investors to enter, which also makes the market more competitive. In this case, only those bubble tea shops that can continue to innovate and meet the needs of consumers can survive the competition.

Fourth, from the perspective of long-term development, if milk tea enterprises want to achieve sustainable development and ensure the long-term development of the industry, they must carry out in-depth layout and reform at multiple levels. On the one hand, enterprises should strengthen product research and development capabilities, introduce raw materials and technologies that are more in line with modern health concepts, in order to create differentiated and competitive product lines; on the other hand, strengthen brand building and maintenance, create a positive brand image, improve customer loyalty; at the same time, optimize supply chain management, reduce costs and ensure food safety; in addition, use digital means, combined with online and offline integrated sales models, improve service efficiency and customer experience; but also pay attention to social responsibility and environmental protection issues, actively participate in community activities, and win social recognition, so as to achieve real brand value precipitation。