The world is changing abruptly all the time, algorithms, big data, the metaverse, artificial intelligence, ...... The flapping wings of technological upgrades introduce variables into the present and open up an unbounded future.
Dialogue with AI, in the link with the cyber world, to explore the development of the tea industry, "Say Tea" specially launched "AI Says Tea - Artificial Intelligence Looks at the Tea Industry Special". This article focuses on the development of the tea and coffee track.
According to the statistical analysis of the Dining Book, the closure rate of coffee in the first half of this year was 13.3%. The coffee market has suffered a "big decline", and looking at the recent marketing methods of the brand, entering the new tea drink track seems to have become the key to its way out.
Recently, following Luckin's strong entry into the milk tea market, the sales of its new light milk tea exceeded 11 million cups in the first week, becoming the best in the first week of this year's new products, Starbucks has also launched three new drinks of "Tea Blossom", one is "Milk Tea", and the other two are Tea Latte and Tea American. The new tea drink market is in full swing, and coffee is entering the milk tea track at this moment, is it a crisis or a turning point? Let's see how AI answers.
△ (Image source: Starbucks)
*The following answers are generated by Wenxin Yiyan and Tongyi Qianwen, and are for presentation purposes only and do not represent the views of "saying tea".
Talking about tea: Luckin and Starbucks are both targeting the light milk tea category, what advantages does this category occupy in the increasingly saturated new tea market?
Wenxin's words:
1. Low sugar, low calorie and low fat: Light milk tea meets the pursuit of healthy drinks by modern consumers with its relatively low sugar, calorie and fat content. In today's increasingly health-conscious world, this feature has become a key factor in attracting consumers.
2. Fresh taste and high-quality raw materials: Light milk tea combines the depth of tea with the sweetness of dairy products to create a light, refreshing and rich and delicious taste. At the same time, high-quality tea and dairy products are selected as raw materials to ensure the quality of the products.
3. Meet the diversified needs: With the diversification of consumers' tastes, light milk tea meets the needs of different consumers with its unique taste and flavor. Whether it is young people who pursue health and like fresh taste, or consumers who seek quality life, they can find products suitable for themselves in this category.
4. Standardization and stability: Compared with traditional milk tea, light milk tea has more advantages in supply chain management. Its raw materials are relatively simple, mainly tea and dairy products, which makes the supply chain more stable and manageable. At the same time, the standardized production process also ensures the stability of product quality.
Talking Tea: With a 50% coffee store closure rate, why do coffee brands choose to enter the milk tea market at this moment?
Tongyi Qianwen:
1. Market diversification: By getting involved in the milk tea market, brands can diversify their business and reduce their reliance on a single product line (i.e., coffee) to diversify risks, especially when the coffee market is facing challenges, and find new growth points.
2. Changes in consumer preferences: Observing the growing preference of young consumers for milk tea and other tea drinks, coffee brands hope to seize this trend to attract more young customers and increase market share.
3. Seasonal supplement: Coffee consumption may fluctuate seasonally, and summer is usually a period of strong demand for cold drinks, and ice drink products such as milk tea can be used as a supplement to summer sales to balance the annual performance.
4. Supply chain and operation coordination: Coffee and milk tea have certain similarities in raw material procurement and beverage production processes, and brands can use the existing supply chain and operation experience to expand to the milk tea business at a lower cost.
5. Brand innovation and vitality: Entering new markets is regarded as a manifestation of brand innovation, which helps to enhance the brand image, show the brand's adaptability and innovation ability, and attract more consumer attention.
6. Competitive strategy: In the case of saturation and fierce competition in the coffee market, entering the milk tea market may be a competitive strategy to avoid its edge, and avoid directly consuming resources in an overly competitive market through the layout of new fields.
Talking Tea: The new tea beverage market is fiercely competitive, how can coffee brands entering this track play a differentiation strategy and seize market share?
Wenxin's words:
1. Clarify brand positioning and target market
1) Brand positioning: First of all, coffee brands need to clarify their brand positioning in the new tea beverage track, whether they will focus on the high-end market, the mid-end market or the people-friendly market. This helps brands develop targeted marketing strategies and product strategies.
2) Target market: Analyze the needs, preferences and consumption habits of the target consumer group, understand their lifestyle and purchase motivation, so as to better meet their expectations.
2. Product innovation and differentiation
1) Taste innovation: Combined with the characteristics of the coffee brand itself, develop tea drinks with unique taste. Through innovative ingredient mixing, production technology and flavor blending, new products can be created that are different from traditional tea drinks.
2) Health concept: Integrate the concept of health into tea drinks, such as using low-sugar, low-fat, and additive-free raw materials, and launch a healthy tea series. This is in line with the modern consumer's pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, which helps to enhance the brand image and market share.
3) Functional tea drinks: For specific consumer groups, such as office workers, fitness enthusiasts, etc., tea drinks with functions such as refreshing the mind, beautifying and nourishing the skin, losing weight and slimming are launched. This can meet the specific needs of consumers and enhance the competitiveness of the brand.
3. Marketing strategy and brand building
1) Brand Story and Culture: Build an attractive brand story and culture, and spread it through social media, brand activities, etc., to enhance consumers' sense of identity and loyalty to the brand.
2) Cross-border cooperation: cross-border cooperation with other brands or IPs, launch co-branded products or activities, and expand market share with the help of the brand influence and fan base of both parties.
3) Digital marketing: use the Internet and big data technology to carry out precision marketing and personalized recommendations. Through social media, e-commerce platforms and other channels, establish interactive relationships with consumers to enhance brand awareness and purchase intention.
4. Channel layout and expansion
1) Online channels: Strengthen the layout on e-commerce platforms, social media and self-owned websites to provide convenient online purchase and delivery services. Reach younger consumers and convenience-seeking consumers through online channels.
2) Offline stores: Open offline stores in densely populated commercial areas, office areas and other places to provide high-quality consumer experience and services. Display brand image and product features through offline stores to attract more consumers' attention.
3) New retail model: Explore new retail models, such as unmanned convenience stores, intelligent vending machines, etc., to combine tea beverage sales with new technologies to improve sales efficiency and consumer experience.
5. Pay attention to market trends and changes in consumer demand
1) Market trend analysis: pay close attention to the development trend and competition situation of the new tea beverage market, and adjust the brand strategy and product layout in a timely manner. Understand the new dynamics of the market and the changing trends of consumer demand.
2) Consumer demand research: Regularly conduct consumer demand research and feedback collection to understand consumers' needs and expectations for tea drinks. Adjust product strategy and marketing strategy to meet consumer needs based on the survey results.
Talking about tea: What ideas and inspirations does coffee bring to tea brands with breakthrough demand when entering the tea industry?
Tongyi Qianwen:
1. Cross-border integration and innovation: Tea brands can explore the integration with other food or beverage categories to create a novel tea experience, such as the combination of tea with fruit juices, flowers and plants, and healthy ingredients, to meet consumers' pursuit of freshness.
2. Enhance consumer experience: Drawing on the consumption scene and environment creation that coffee shops focus on, tea brands can optimize store design, provide more comfortable and distinctive rest space, strengthen the overall experience of customers, and increase customer stickiness.
3. Quality and standardization: learn the standardized operation process of the coffee industry to ensure the stable quality of each cup of tea, and at the same time strengthen the publicity of the origin and brewing process of tea, so as to enhance the brand image and professionalism.
4. Digital transformation: Use technological means, such as mobile payment, smart ordering system, membership management system, etc., to improve operational efficiency and customer convenience, and collect data to support refined operations and personalized marketing.
5. Culture and story marketing: Deeply explore tea culture, tell the story behind tea and traditional craftsmanship, enhance emotional resonance through content marketing and brand story, and establish a unique brand culture.
6. Flexible business model: Imitating the practice of coffee brands offering different product portfolios at different time periods, tea brands can explore diversified business hours and services such as breakfast, afternoon tea, and night-time economy to broaden revenue sources.
Talking Tea: In the future, what trends will the tea and coffee track present?
Wenxin's words:
1. The market scale continues to expand
The tea and coffee market will continue to expand as consumers' demand for coffee and tea continues to increase, especially the younger generation's pursuit of personalized and high-quality beverages. It is expected that the scale of China's coffee industry will continue to maintain rapid growth in the next few years, and the tea market will also maintain a steady growth trend.
2. Brand competition intensifies
1) Brand expansion: Existing brands will accelerate their expansion and increase the number of stores through direct sales and franchises to seize market share. At the same time, new brands will continue to emerge, and the market competition will become more intense.
2) IPO boom: A number of new tea brands are preparing to go public, raising funds to support brand expansion and supply chain optimization. This will further intensify market competition and promote industry reshuffle.
3. The trend of health is obvious
1) Health demand: With the concept of healthy consumption deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, consumers' demand for the health of tea and coffee products is gradually increasing. Brands will pay more attention to the health attributes of their products, such as using low-sugar, low-fat, additive-free ingredients, and launching more healthy drinks.
2) Functional segmentation: In order to meet the health needs of different consumers, tea and coffee products will develop in the direction of functional segmentation, such as the introduction of drinks with functions such as refreshing the mind, beautifying and nourishing the skin, losing weight and slimming.
4. Product innovation accelerates
1) Taste innovation: Brands will continue to explore new flavor combinations and recipes to capture consumers' attention. For example, combining coffee with tea, juice, dairy products, etc., creates new beverages with unique flavors.
2) Packaging upgrading: As an important part of the product, packaging will also become an important direction of brand innovation. The brand will focus on the environmental friendliness, portability and aesthetics of the packaging to enhance the overall image of the product.
5. Diversified development of channels
1) Online and offline integration: Brands will focus on the integrated development of online and offline channels, carry out brand promotion and sales through online channels such as e-commerce platforms and social media, and strengthen the experience and interactivity of offline stores.
2) Accelerating overseas expansion: With the saturation of the domestic market, some leading brands have set their sights on overseas markets and expanded new growth points by opening stores overseas.
To sum up, despite the accelerated market reshuffle, coffee brands can still see the bubble tea market as a new area full of opportunities as an important step in strategic adjustment and business expansion.
What other questions do you have to ask AI? Feel free to leave a message in the comment area.
Editor-in-charge / Yao Yiling
Editorial Board Member / Wang Miaorong