Coffee began to enter China around the middle of the last century. If you were in the busy city of Shanghai at that time, you could walk around a street corner and see an elegantly decorated cafe, smelling the rich aroma of coffee. Stepping into the 21st century, people like to drink milk tea and other new tea drinks. In the street, you can see people everywhere holding a variety of take-away flower tea, fruit tea, milk tea and other new tea drinks.
To be sure, the Chinese already have a much richer choice of tea. Especially in recent years, a variety of new tea drink brands continue to rise, the whole new tea drink industry presents a thriving scene.
New tea brands compete, but the industry has not run out of the king
At the present stage, the new tea industry can be described as a hundred flowers bloom, the industry has been the rise of online celebrity brands, various new tea brands like bamboo shoots up. Now, the market is widely favored by consumers of new tea brands like Xi Tea, COCO can, answer, a little, tea Yan Yue se, Yihetang and so on.
It is understood that since 2015, the Baidu index of new tea drinks continues to be high, with peaks appearing in summer. In 2018, new tea brand franchise still maintained a high opening situation, has been the third hot year. The market demand for opening new tea shops continues to heat up, and new tea brands compete with each other, which confirms that the tea market has entered a continuous hot situation from the side. Among them, COCO can be in the bustling commercial center squatted for a long time, the answer exploded overnight, xi Tea also with its simple style accounted for a large number of consumers favor.
COCO Is a tea brand owned by Eke International Catering Co., LTD., founded in Taiwan island. With more than 1,600 stores worldwide, COCO is one of the most visible tea chains in department stores and shopping malls. There are many kinds of COCO tea drinks, including mellow milk tea, fresh fruit milk tea, white lovers, alcohol black love and four major categories. People living in cities like COCO tea, especially the young urban white-collar class. COCO can also rely on consumer love, in the bustling business center.
If COCO can be entrenched in the market for a long time, then the answer as a net red rookie, can be said to be a night. The answer tea brand first became an Internet sensation when a netizen shared its unique design on Douyin. Among them, the answer generator is the core technology of the answer brand and the reason why consumers like the Answer. Consumers write down the question, the milk tea will be written on the answer after the order, this ingenious idea is sought after by young people, in just one month, the harvest exposure rate is very high, shop cities all over the country. The answer is to use Internet thinking, with the help of Ai, to construct the spiritual interaction between people and tea through content. As of June 2018, there are over 400 stores worldwide.
Xicha was founded in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, formerly known as ROYALTEA, and is a new tea brand under Shenzhen Meixixi Restaurant Management Co., LTD. Happy tea brand identity is a cup of tea guzzling neighborhood boy image, the tone is based on black and white lines, logo design is line version of the cartoon, it consciously to the Nordic style simple elegant close, logo reflects the interest of tea. The simplicity of Xi Cha and the unique flavor of tea are also popular with consumers. In particular, Xicha “makes drinking tea a style and a way of life”, “INSPIRATION”, “Zen” and other brand concepts happen to be the elements favored by contemporary new tea consumers. Therefore, Xi Tea from the birth began to explode all the way.
In general, although the new tea industry is lively and there are many outstanding brands, the industry has not run out of the real king. Using the most popular palace fighting thinking, if the new tea industry is compared to a harem, then the post has been suspended for a long time. If COCO but high-power imperial concubine, the answer is once named, yan crown harem’s new favorite, and with a simple style like a clear stream of self-styled happy tea is more in line with the palace king’s people set. However, in the new tea brand king of the competition, Xi Tea can really ascend after entering the palace?
Bright and bright under the constraints of worries, like tea although there is the heart of the post, but may not have the power to seize the post
According to Xiao Shuqin, CEO of Xi Tea, the monthly revenue of Xi Tea exceeds 100 million yuan. Basically, stores in first-tier cities can sell 2,000 to 3,000 cups of tea every day, and all stores of Xi Tea are profitable. In addition, Xi Tea is sought after by the capital. Since this year, Xi Tea has completed the B round financing of 400 million yuan, which is also regarded as having a family pedigree.
New tea brands thrive because consumers like them, so there is no shortage of markets. As long as the product is creative enough, there is a certain flavor, by certain marketing means, can be as quickly as the answer. In other words, because the barriers to competition are low, it is not very difficult for new brands to rise. And the capital sees this line to make money, certainly not just greedy, is bound to take action to eat up the market share of the new tea.
Backed by capital and favored by consumers, Xi Cha looks to be on a roll with 400 million round B financing. But in fact, behind the bright appearance of Xi Tea, there are also many hidden problems and hidden worries.
First, it is obvious that the industry is highly competitive. Consumers are the emperor in the new tea industry, and various tea brands are the concubines in the harem. In the new tea drink this big harem, new love old love a grasp a big. The “women” in the palace are like endless flowers, which bloom one batch this spring and another next year.
Let’s count the other tea brands, such as COCO, Answer, A little, Tea Yan Yue Se, Yihetang, and Yinwei Tea and Nai Xue Tea, which have raised over 100 million yuan. These can still be named, and there are other nameless new brands of tea, big and small, that litter the streets of cities. This shows that the industry competition is big.
Secondly, Xi Cha only does direct stores, not franchise stores, which is not conducive to rapid expansion of stores. And truly become the queen of new tea drinks, stores must have a certain density. Throughout the new tea brands have always played, first focus on the layout of first-tier cities; Then build brand potential to make their own brand as the head, seize the core business circle of first-tier cities; Finally, it emphasizes the sense of design and creates a comfortable space to better cater to the preferences of consumers.
Today, first-tier cities are increasingly saturated with new tea drinks. Instead, brands are settling down in second – and third-tier cities, determined to make their fortunes in markets outside the first-tier cities. And in second – and third-tier cities, more expensive direct stores are clearly not appropriate. Direct store management can not reach that far, the trial and error cost is very high.
Finally, due to low barriers to entry into new tea drinks, the industry has not formed an obvious brand echelon. Like tea naturally is also one of the general public. On the one hand, the new tea industry currently lacks effective entry barriers, the formula is easy to be imitated, and the product homogenization degree is relatively high. Tea industry early investment is low, low barriers to capital entry.
On the other hand, not only Xicha has obtained capital, but the whole industry has enjoyed the spring breeze of capital. According to statistics, the financing amount of the new tea industry exceeded 1.3 billion YUAN in 2017. In addition to Heicha, Weicha received 500 million yuan investment from Liu Qiangdong, teasoon received three rounds of multi-million yuan financing, and Meiya received 100 million yuan investment. Since this year, Nai Snow’s tea announced to obtain the capital of 100 million yuan. This time it seems that the capital rain even did not appear very obvious favoritism.
Generally speaking, it is impossible to say that Xi Tea does not want to become a “queen” in the harem of the new tea industry. However, the fierce competition between brands at the present stage, the business model of direct operation without franchise stores, and the unclear situation of brand echelon, these major factors are hindering Xi Tea. It can be said that at the present stage, Xi Tea has the heart of “after”, but there is no “after” power.
Seize the hearts of consumers, xi Tea can add feng robe
In fact, when new tea brands are competing for the market, they are competing for users, so new tea brands should try their best to win the favor of consumers. Consumers, the “emperor”, pay more attention to the tea products themselves. Consumers care more about whether the drinks are good to drink, fun to drink, or whether the price is appropriate. Xi Tea wants to become a new tea queen, must be good at figuring out the “sacred”, please the “sacred heart”. In addition, they should constantly enhance their “background family background”.
First, Xi Cha should maintain its own style and continue to create differentiated products. The so-called differentiation is no longer the same thing with different brand names, but to make the product itself is different, not easy to copy, so as to form their own product barriers. By creating its own complete supply chain and consciously building a unique consumer scene, it has become a unique and irreplaceable brand in the industry.
Second, increase the added value of products, make rational use of marketing channels, and provide social attributes. On the one hand, tea can start from the “tea” IP, improve the brand premium from the inside, expand the product extension from the outside, and add tea, tea cups and other product lines. On the other hand, the main target group of new tea brands is the post-90s consumers, who have more personalized demands for products. They are keen to reflect their attitude towards life through consumer goods and like products with social attributes. If the right marketing channels are selected, the products are likely to explode instantly.
Third, timely and decisive subsidence of the second – and third-tier cities. With the acceleration of urbanization and the wave of consumption upgrading, consumers in second – and third-tier cities are gradually willing to pay for quality and service, which has great consumption potential. At the same time, the second – and third-tier cities lack of consumer brands that can provide high-end quality and service, while the current mainstream new tea brands in the first-tier cities to seize the land, the second – and third-tier cities will become an excellent opportunity for development.
Generally speaking, xi Cha may or may not be able to add feng robes to the body. As for the future, the new tea queen who decides, it depends on who has more “family”, who can catch the heart of consumers.
This article was first published on The website of Kuang Venture Capital, public ID: Liukuangtmt