On April 15, the latest brand of the new tea drink brand Chayan Yuese Art and Culture Bistro (hereinafter referred to as "Day and Night Poetry Wine Tea") was officially opened in Changsha, Hunan, with five stores opened, all concentrated in the Wuyi Square business district. In recent years, China's new tea beverage industry has experienced rapid development, major brands have emerged, and market competition has become increasingly fierce. In order to break through the dilemma of homogeneous competition, many brands have begun to explore new paths of cross-border integration, combining different elements and fields to bring consumers a new tea experience.
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The trend of cross-border integration is emerging, and the new tea beverage industry is full of new vitality
The rise of this cross-border integration trend is first reflected in product innovation.
At present, traditional milk tea and fruit tea can no longer meet the diversified needs of consumers, so new tea brands have begun to try to integrate elements such as coffee, wine, and Chinese medicinal materials into their products.
For example, the new brand of Day and Night Poetry Tea, which combines tea and wine, brings consumers a different tea experience. This cross-border integration not only enriches the taste and form of the product, but also enhances the cultural connotation and added value of tea.
This is already the third answer sheet for the combination of tea and wine in addition to coffee and lemon tea in addition to coffee and lemon tea since it launched brands such as Yuanyang Coffee in August 2022 and Gude Mo Lemon launched in September 2023.
According to Zhang Yuanyi, the person in charge of the day and night poetry wine and tea brand, since other sub-brands of Chayan Yuese, such as Yuanyang Coffee, Gude Mo Lemon, and Xiaoshenxian Teahouse, all have wine-related products, and have always had good reviews, it was decided to use wine products as the main product to open up a new product line.
At present, the four major types of tea are black tea, green tea, oolong tea and yellow tea, which are connected with traditional Chinese wine, Western-style base wine and rich milk base, and the gene of tea is linked to the field of wine with the gene of tea and pleasant color, forming an all-inclusive, interesting and fun characteristic tea wine, creating "differentiation" and making new wine and tea.
As early as 2017, Mixue Bingcheng has entered the coffee industry and launched the "Lucky Coffee" brand, in 2020, Naixue's new store "Naixue Pro" launched specialty coffee, in 2021, Heytea invested in the specialty coffee brand Seesaw Coffee, and in 2022, the lemon tea brand "Ningji" wholly owned and invested in the coffee brand "RUU" In March 2023, Shanghai Auntie launched its sub-brand "Shanghai Coffee Fresh Fruit Coffee", and in December of the same year, Chabaidao launched its first coffee sub-brand "Coffee Ash", in response to some of the fundraising plans mentioned in the prospectus for the launch and promotion of its own coffee brand and the establishment of a network of coffee shops across China.
It can be said that coffee has become a "new force" for major new tea brands in recent years, and the data also proves that the compound annual growth rate of China's coffee market as a whole is higher than that of the tea market.
According to the "2023 White Paper on China's Ready-made Tea and Coffee Industry" released by Ele.me, the size of the coffee market has increased from 28.4 billion yuan in 2017 to 119.1 billion yuan in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 30%, and the tea market size has increased from 42.2 billion yuan in 2017 to 104 billion yuan in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 20%.
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The innovation ability of the tea industry co-branded with major IPs is indispensable
However, cross-border integration is not an easy task, and it poses many challenges for new tea brands. First of all, cross-border integration requires brands to have stronger innovation capabilities and resource integration capabilities in product development, production, marketing, etc.
In recent years, the cross-border co-branding of wine and tea has also soared in the tea industry, frequently breaking through the inherent consumption circle, and reaping good results.
"Day and Night Poetry Wine and Tea is more similar to a small Qing bar in terms of form, and it is a casual tavern without live performances. According to Cong Hao, the operation of day and night poetry wine, the products are currently divided into three categories: cocktail tea, cocktails, and special supplies for large stores, with a total of 37 products. The new brand plans to open 30 stores this year, with full-time sales of alcoholic creations. The price gradient of the product ranges from 13-21 yuan, and the average price is 17-18 yuan.
On September 4, 2023, Luckin Coffee and Kweichow Moutai launched a joint "Sauce Latte", which is said to add Kweichow Moutai to each cup of coffee. On the first day of the launch of the co-branded product, the sales volume exceeded 5.42 million cups, and the sales volume exceeded 100 million yuan on the first day.
This phenomenon intuitively reflects the need for brands to have a deep understanding of the characteristics and needs of different fields, and organically integrate various elements to create unique products.
At the same time, brands also need to strengthen cooperation and linkage with other industries, and enhance their overall competitiveness through resource sharing and complementary advantages.
In addition, cross-border integration is also reflected in brand management and marketing strategies. New tea brands have begun to focus on cooperation and linkage with other industries.
For example, some brands cooperate with enterprises in the fields of tourism, culture, and art, and the most eye-catching of them is the linkage marketing model with cultural IPs such as animation and games.
According to incomplete statistics, during 2023, there will be a total of 122 co-branding of mainstream new tea brands in the market, and there will be a new co-branding event almost every 3 days. Within two years, the co-branding of the new tea drink brand has also rapidly changed from "no one has me" to "more people have me" and then to today's "in-depth experience".
The co-branding craze in the first three months of 2024 hasn't even faded yet, and the popularity of new events is already considerable.
According to relevant statistics, from March 29, the second wave of joint activities between Heytea and "Light Night" has officially begun. At the same time, the linkage activities between Seven Fentian and "Walking with the Phoenix", Cudi Coffee and "SpongeBob SquarePants", Shanghai Auntie and "Global College Entrance Examination" have been officially announced and will be launched in April.
While the co-branded model is out of the circle, it is also necessary to consider that in the process of cross-border integration, brands need to pay attention to maintaining their own cultural genes and core values to avoid falling into the quagmire of homogeneous competition.
In addition, cross-border integration also involves issues such as food safety and quality control.
Although cross-border integration brings many challenges, it also brings unlimited opportunities for the new tea beverage industry, promoting innovation and development of the entire industry by promoting exchanges and cooperation between different industries.
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Strengthen differentiated competition, tea drinks cross-border, add Chinese herbal medicines, and play the health card
With the accelerated development of cross-border integration, the market competition in the new tea beverage industry is becoming increasingly fierce. Major brands have increased their investment efforts to compete for market share through product innovation, marketing strategies and other means.
But for now, the coffee brands under Tea Drink have had little success in terms of profitability. According to the prospectus data, at the end of the reporting period, there were 1,964 Shanghai coffee stores under Shanghai Auntie, and the total revenue in the first nine months of 2023 was 244 million yuan, accounting for only 0.3% of the total revenue of all brands. According to the prospectus data, as of September 30, 2023, "Lucky Coffee" has about 2,900 stores.
Therefore, in terms of product innovation, tea beverage companies and traditional Chinese medicine companies hit it off, and they have begun to think about new products with unique taste and nutritional value. For example, some brands have begun to try to integrate Chinese herbal medicines into tea drinks, launching tea products with health care functions: wolfberry coffee, ejiao milk tea...... Traditional Chinese medicine tea enterprises are constantly moving.
Recently, Sinopharm Group and Guangdong Yifang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which specializes in herbal tea, opened its first store in Beijing. It is understood that the brand combines traditional Chinese medicine culture with tea drinks, and has developed more than 40 light tea drinks, with prices of more than 15 yuan ~ 20 yuan, and the store also sells American ginseng, dendrobium, notoginseng, salvia, hawthorn, astragalus and other light health around.
This innovation not only satisfies consumer demand for a healthy diet, but also increases the added value and competitiveness of the product.
However, the intensification of market competition also brings certain risks and challenges. Industry insiders believe that traditional Chinese medicine companies have certain professional advantages in tea drinking, but there is no obvious advantage in the current fiercely competitive tea industry.
As early as 2019, Tong Ren Tang launched the new retail brand "Zhima Health", and launched a series of "health coffees" such as wolfberry latte, motherwort rose latte, cinnamon cappuccino, monk fruit American, etc., Baitasi Pharmacy, a subsidiary of Fosun Pharma, launched a new brand "Yao Coffee" at Fucheng Store in Xicheng District, Beijing, and Dong'e Ejiao co-branded with Nai Xue's tea to launch "Nai Xue Dong Ejiao Milk Tea".
At the same time, the doctor reminds that it is best to consult a doctor in advance to taste foods containing Chinese herbal medicines. Adding a small amount of Chinese medicine with the same origin as medicine and food can play a certain role, for example, adding ginseng or American ginseng herbs, which can indeed help mental workers solve the problem of fatigue.
In fact, some Chinese herbal medicines are not suitable for everyone, so you should consult a professional doctor before tasting foods containing Chinese herbal medicines to confirm whether your body is suitable for consumption.
In short, in the future, with the continuous change of consumer demand and the intensification of market competition, the new tea beverage industry will continue to explore more possibilities of cross-border integration and bring consumers a more colorful tea experience.
-END-来源 | 潇湘晨报出品 | 餐饮O2O
The domestic catering market is fiercely "involuted", and many catering companies are trying to explore overseas markets and seek a new growth curve.
-In March 2023, Heytea announced that it would open applications for overseas business partners, including those in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, accelerating the speed of going overseas.
-As of November 2023, the number of overseas stores has approached 4,000;
-In 2023, Yang Guofu Group has opened in more than 10 overseas countries and regions, and plans to quadruple the expansion of overseas stores by the end of the year.
-In March 2023, Luckin opened two stores in Singapore at the same time, and opened 30 stores by the end of the year.
In addition to Malatang, hot pot, tea, coffee and other categories with a high degree of standardization, more players in the track have also joined the "overseas army".
-In November 2023, Hunan cuisine brand Nongji opened 2 stores in Singapore;
-In January 2024, the high-end restaurant group with the most Michelin stars in China, Xin Rong Kee, will go abroad for the first time, and its Tokyo store will be opened for trial opening soon.
-In January 2024, Ziyan Food replied to investors on the interactive platform that the company will continue to enter the Australian and American markets, and the store in Melbourne, Australia is being renovated.
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In 2024, China's catering "overseas fever" will continue. As an outpost of going overseas to Southeast Asia, catering O2O will hold the 2024 China Wandian Chain Conference and Catering Overseas Summit Forum in Shenzhen on April 24. Catering companies that have gone to sea share their success and experience in entering the pit, specially invited overseas service agencies to dock resources, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, the United States, Australia and other catering heavyweights!
The first batch of guests of the China Wandian Chain Conference (Shenzhen Station).