Produced by | Entrepreneurship is at the forefront
Author | Old days
From a local beverage to the formation of a 10-billion-level market, herbal tea was once a legend in China's beverage industry. But in recent years, with the rise of Gen Z's consumption power, the herbal tea industry is constantly seeking changes and has begun to explore ways to please young consumers.
Recently, Heqi is launching a new product "and its positive bubble herbal tea", entering the "bubble +" beverage, injecting new vitality into the century-old herbal tea.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" >1, "post-herbal tea intensive farming era" is coming</h1>
The history of herbal tea can be traced back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, when large-scale miasma broke out in the Lingnan region. After ge Hongnan, a medical scientist at that time, came to Lingnan to conduct intensive research, he formed an early cold medicine, which is what we now commonly call "herbal tea".
In the process of development, the public familiar with he Qizheng, Wang Laoji, Jiaduobao and other brands, the use of modern food processing technology, the improved, relatively sweet "packaged herbal tea drinks" to the country, herbal tea heat detoxification, thirst quenching impression is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
In 2006, herbal tea was listed as one of the first national intangible cultural heritages. After the successful application, herbal tea drinks developed at an explosive pace. Data show that in 2005, China's domestic herbal tea drinks were less than 1 million tons. By 2010, the herbal tea beverage industry had reached 25 million tons, surpassing Coca-Cola's global sales.
When the industry was at its hottest, there were more than 50 herbal tea brands on the market, and even pharmaceutical companies were involved in herbal tea, including Beijing Tongrentang, Hutchison Whampoa, Pan Gaoshou Pharmaceutical, Guilin Sanjin, etc.
But after experiencing a rapid fission process, today's herbal tea industry is facing internal and external challenges, but also has its own opportunities.
On the one hand, the growth rate of the herbal tea industry has slowed down. According to the data of the Prospective Industry Research Institute, the growth rate of the herbal tea market has dropped from more than 16% in the peak period to a single-digit growth rate, and it is expected that the market size will continue to maintain a low-speed expansion.
Another key factor in making herbal tea "fire- off" is the blowout of new tea drinks. In recent years, Chinese tea drinks such as burning tea and tea king have attracted much attention, the sparkling water led by Yuanqi Forest is very popular, and the net red tea drinks represented by Xicha and Naixue tea are emerging in an endless stream, and the external competitive pressure of herbal tea in the market has increased.
In addition, herbal tea has been "prevention of fire, fire reduction" product interest points in the market survival, the market status quo of a single category, small range of choice, fixed consumption scenarios, etc., have become the development of the herbal tea industry can not be ignored resistance and problems.
Even so, the herbal tea market still has a strong market foundation and a capacity space of more than 50 billion yuan, and it is still a super category in beverages.
In fact, after nearly ten years of rapid growth, China's herbal tea industry has begun to enter the post-herbal tea intensive cultivation era, and the overall growth rate has shown a steady growth trend. For herbal tea brands, how to carry out technological innovation on the basis of inheriting inherent characteristics and functions to adapt to the changes in the taste of the new generation of consumer groups is the key to occupying the market in the future.
In this regard, combined with the development of the industry and its own research and development strength, and its innovative launch of a better consumer experience of "bubble herbal tea", breaking the inherent impression of consumers on traditional herbal tea, broadening the boundaries of herbal tea drinking, to the slightly bland herbal tea market to add a mouthful of "steam".
Image source / and its positive
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="18" >2, bubble + herbal tea, and it is crossing new tracks</h1>
And it is not surprising that he has set his sights on the sparkling water track.
As the most popular outlet category of the new generation, sparkling water has obvious Internet celebrity attributes. Young consumers not only want to "loosen" their lives, pursue a delicious and rich taste experience, but also want to reduce the burden on the body, hoping to reduce the intake of sugar, fat and calories, sparkling water has undoubtedly become the most suitable choice.
According to the "2020-2025 China Soda Industry Market Development Prospects and Investment Forecast Analysis Report" of the Prospective Industry Research Institute, in 2019, the overall domestic soda market size is about 15 billion yuan, and it is predicted to reach about 32 billion yuan in 2025.
Image source / Prospective Industry Research Institute
Aiming at the "bubble" outlet that has been gaining momentum in the past two years, and its official entry into the bubble water market with the selling point of "herbal tea + bubbles", it has also brought its own new thinking.
On the one hand, it is to achieve the ultimate in health. Traditional carbonated drinks, because of the addition of phosphoric acid, long-term drinking will cause the loss of calcium in the body, resulting in health problems such as osteoporosis; and its positive bubble herbal tea is the use of non-phosphoric acid bubbles, not only to ensure a refreshing taste, but also to avoid the health problems of calcium loss.
On the other hand, there is an extreme emphasis on taste. While pursuing health, it also satisfies consumers' demands for taste to the greatest extent.
Different from other well-known herbal tea beverage brands, he and its positive bubble herbal tea abandon the industry's low-cost juice concentrate and choose a high-cost extraction route - using the exclusive Chinese herbal material fresh boiling extraction patent technology to complete the product processing. Selected plant raw materials three flowers, three grasses and one leaf, from raw material cleaning to extraction, in order to ensure freshness, only the "golden 2 hours" time span, not only can greatly retain the active ingredients of plant herbs, but also can not lose the original taste of traditional herbal tea refreshing taste, so that the drinking effect to achieve the best.
Third-party experimental data show that heqi herbal tea is currently the herbal tea product with the highest total flavonoid content on the market, and total flavonoids are the key factors affecting the efficacy of "fire reduction".
It is worth mentioning that Heqizheng is also the only herbal tea making enterprise in the whole industry that can be processed and canned within two hours.
In addition, it is an essential upgrade of the consumer experience. In the hot summer, being able to drink a cup of pure herbal tea, coupled with the impact of sparkling water, consumers can get a sensory "cool vapor" experience. In many scenarios such as summer heat dissipation, work and study, sports and fitness, and supper diet, herbal tea refueling can meet the needs well and become an efficient "fire extinguishing gas" for consumers.
In summary, the "bubble herbal tea" launched by it this time has promoted the expansion of the herbal tea market and the extension of the boundary, not only out of a differentiated road, but also into the hearts of young consumers, opening up a new track for the herbal tea industry.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="31" >3, food and beverage, the innovator wins the world</h1>
In fact, the current consumer demand for food and beverages has been from "thirst quenching" to "delicious, nutritious, healthy" transformation, food and beverage industry to deeply recognize this development trend, continuous innovation, improve the added value of products, in order to attract more young people's favor.
"Innovation" is the key to the rapid growth of the entire food and beverage industry. The reason why the new tea can be loved by young people is inseparable from its strategy of continuous innovation and upgrading. In 2019, Lele Tea launched 40 new models; throughout 2020, Heytea will launch a new product every 1.2 weeks on average, and Naixue's tea will be new every week.
Under the trend of "innovation", "health" is a concept that has been frequently mentioned in the food and beverage industry in recent years, and it often appears with words such as pure natural, sugar-free, additive-free, and 0 fat. According to the "Ipsos 2020 Health Drink Research", 53% of post-90s tea users have increased their health expenditure in the past year, they pay attention to vitamins, probiotics, trace elements, herbal extracts and other health ingredients, but also pay attention to additive-free, pure natural, sugar-free/little sugar/low sugar and other health processes, in terms of efficacy, there are higher and higher demands for enhancing immunity, supplementing nutrition, etc.
Image Credit / Ipsos 2020 Health Drink Study
There is no doubt that health will continue to be the future trend of food and beverage. In particular, young consumers' high concern for health has brought new growth points to the industry. They are more concerned about health and are willing to spend more money on products with these benefits.
In this case, it is in line with the trend of market health, accurately meets the needs of young consumers, and always practices "innovation" first.
In fact, the launch of this bubble herbal tea is not the first innovation with it. Previously, Heqi was launching a sugar-free herbal tea with the main theme of "0 sugar, 0 calories and 0 fat", retaining the herbal tea formula and using sugar substitute erythritol to meet the health needs of the market, meeting the consumer's consumer demand for free drinking without burden.
This time, Heqizheng has also aimed at the demand for the refreshing taste of young people for beverages, and launched bubble herbal tea, which has made breakthroughs in the taste, efficacy and consumption scene of traditional herbal tea. It is not difficult to see from these actions that it is currently changing the market's perception of traditional herbal tea through product innovation, and trying to better communicate with young consumer groups such as post-95s and post-00s through innovative upgrades in herbal tea development.
And it is able to do this, in addition to the insight into consumer trends, its strong strength is also indispensable. Backed by Dali Food Group, relying on the strength of the strong group, and its scientific research has an innate advantage. On the track of "healthy drinks", and it is or will become the "new leader" of the herbal tea industry.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="41" >4</h1>
Herbal tea as a regional drink that has existed for hundreds of years, has now become a part of the mass food culture, on the basis of inheriting the inherent characteristics and functions, how to develop healthier products, adapt to the changes in the taste of young people, and formulate positioning in line with new consumption trends has become a challenge that the herbal tea industry must face to develop forward.
And its differentiation of herbal tea in the new consumption era, for the herbal tea industry, or will be a new increment.
*The caption in the text comes from: and its official.