In recent years, as the Chinese catering industry's brand influence abroad continues to increase and market share continues to expand, Chinese milk tea brands have finally ushered in their own new era of navigation, and Southeast Asia is their first stop.

HEYTEA becomes one of the representatives of Chinese milk tea brands going overseas

In the Southeast Asian market, which is dominated by Japanese, Korean and local beverage brands represented by TP TEA, CHA BAR, TEA live, etc., Chinese new tea drinks are advancing all the way, with overseas branches in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and other ASEAN countries. Behind their success, what are the secrets to attract Southeast Asian consumers? In the face of market competition, what should they do to have the last laugh?

Chinese new tea: young people are not frivolous to go to sea

In fact, from the initial powder instant, liquid ready-to-drink, to the street-made, to today's various new forms such as "milk tea + European bag", China's milk tea industry has achieved four "upgrades", but its presence in China The domestic development history is only more than 20 years, and the age of officially opening overseas branches in Southeast Asia is even shorter. However, this does not affect the development of Chinese new tea drinks in the ASEAN market. They have been steadily fighting all the way, combining the innate Chinese tea culture with the local taste preferences of Southeast Asia, and soon stand out.

On the first day that Hey Tea opened its doors in Singapore’s Ion Orchard shopping mall, the crazy scene of "queuing for two hours, picking up for ten seconds" was once again staged. Singapore media described it as "unbelievable" and other strong words. grand occasion. According to data released by Hi Tea, the average daily sales volume of the store has reached 2,000 to 3,000 cups since its opening, and the daily net profit can reach up to 60,000 yuan. Up to now, Hey Tea has opened 4 branches in Singapore, all of which are located in Singapore’s famous shopping and entertainment centers. With its convenient transportation, large flow of people, and high consumption levels, it not only attracts a large number of white-collar workers, tourists and young students in Singapore. Gathering here, it has also become the “hottest place” for local Internet celebrities and opinion leaders. It can be said that as one of the leaders in China's milk tea industry, Hey Tea has launched the "first shot" of Chinese new tea drinks in the ASEAN market.

Nai Xue no tea created a new form of "tea drink + European bag"

Sunrise Chatime's overseas branch in the Philippines

The performance of other domestic milk tea brands in Southeast Asia is also eye-catching. Chatime, which is the main international market, has opened 2500 stores worldwide, 40% of which are located in Southeast Asia; R&B tea shop has opened more than 40 stores in Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore. "Communityization" as the leading factor, "roots and sprouts" in many places 1 km away from high-end office buildings, becoming a tea and drinking pastime for white-collar workers in Southeast Asia after work; Michelle Ice City, which has more than 10,000 stores in China, is also in Hanoi, Vietnam A number of upgraded MIXUE stores have been opened, which unsurprisingly set off a wave of Chinese tea drinking; after Tangcha tomtee, which focuses on traditional Chinese tea ceremony, entered Malaysia strongly, its revenue and attributable net profit have maintained 32 consecutive years. % Steady growth; In addition, Nai Xue’s tea has adopted a “social + marketing” model, attracting a large number of fans in Southeast Asia. Its official accounts in Malaysia and Singapore’s Facebook and Instagram followers have the same number of followers and monthly average number of interactions. It has reached over 12,000, which is far ahead of the attention paid by consumers of other local milk tea brands.

To a certain extent, the popularity of Chinese new tea drinks in Southeast Asia demonstrates that the vision of the "national tide" brand in the new era is not limited to a certain market. They are looking for a further international business track in order to improve the supply chain, quality, The comprehensive strength of the brand has gained more room for development in the test.

Bring a good cup of tea to Southeast Asia

Behind the lively traffic data and phenomenon, why can Chinese new tea drink win big fans in the crowded Southeast Asian milk tea market and successfully bring a cup of Chinese tea to Southeast Asia?

The key to the success of Chinese milk tea going overseas is to use Chinese tea culture to endorse it. "It's a long way to drink but sleep, and people in Higao are thirsty for tea"-China's tea-drinking culture has a long history since ancient times. Chinese new tea drinks are precisely the catalytic point of the combination of traditional culture and trend culture. It integrates traditional Chinese elements such as tea, silk and Peking opera into modern brand design, breaking through the "dimension wall" and effectively improving the international market. resolution.

For example, Heytea has set up a tea research institute and a hand-made tea space experience area in the Daydream Store in Clarke Quay, Singapore, allowing consumers to experience the artistic conception of making tea and tasting tea in ancient China. Naxue no Tea takes the timeline of the four seasons of "Spring Mirror", "Summer Flower", "Autumn Moon" and "Winter Snow" as the main line, and has launched the "Naxue Famous Tea Gift Box" that integrates the Chinese tea culture in all stores in Southeast Asia. The pure tea series can bring 10% of overseas sales growth for Nayuki every year. Tang Cha regularly organizes "tomtee tea tasting" activities in its branches in Thailand and Malaysia, attracting a large number of Thai fans in Hanfu to come and take photos and check in for tea consumption. To a certain extent, behind the booming Chinese new tea drinking economy is the support of cultural symbols, and the use of commercial operations has created an incremental market for young Southeast Asians, which is different from traditional tea consumer groups.

Localized innovation according to local conditions is also its way to win. In response to the tastes of local consumers in Singapore, Hey Tea launches tropical-style limited "durian" ice cream and "salted egg yolk" ice cream in Singapore from July to September each year. In addition, considering that the branch in Vietnam is located in the famous local "bar street", R&B Xuncha launched its specially-tuned Vietnamese limited alcoholic tea in this store, the taste is the most representative of Vietnam's "tiger beer" and "tricks". Saigon".

At the same time, different from the excessive pursuit of sweetness by traditional milk tea brands in Southeast Asia, contemporary Chinese new tea drinks focus on the mellow taste of tea, and the taste is fresher than traditional milk tea. Chinese milk tea with higher tea polyphenol content also has a good refreshing The refreshing effect is more likely to be loved and welcomed by professionals in Southeast Asia.

It can be seen that when Chinese new tea drinks enter Southeast Asia, they will adopt the market strategy of going to the countryside to follow the customs, taking consumers as the core guidance, and achieving greater "economic effects" through "cultural adaptation".

Na Xue no Tea has set up a special hand-made tea experience area in the store

In addition, the innovation of digital marketing methods has also created momentum for new Chinese tea drinks. While the product and space experience continues to be upgraded and iterated, Naixue's tea layout overseas stores has also carried out a digital transformation strategy, and the Southeast Asian cross-border e-commerce giant lazada has launched WeChat applet ordering, mall live tea making, and online flagship store. A set of combination punches such as placing an order not only increases the number of orders in the store, but also allows customers to arrange the meal picking time by themselves, making the consumption experience smoother. Hey Tea adopts digital management for quality control. The ERP (enterprise information management) system and "tea self-pickup cabinet" are launched on the supply chain, which solves the queuing problem, opens up the information flow to maximize the efficiency of tea sorting, and accelerates the line Integration of online and offline consumption scenarios.

It is worth noting that the second half of the Southeast Asian milk tea market also came after the Chinese-style new tea drink received the overseas dividend of the initial brand expansion. China’s tea industry exports to Southeast Asia. The future trend is internationalization and intertwining. Technical barriers are relatively eliminated. Homogeneous competition is inevitable. If you want to be the first in the market, you must rely on the support of brand and quality.

In an interview on March 8, 2021, Peng Xin, the founder of Naxueno Tea, said that the new tea drink going to Southeast Asia is an irreversible trend, but no matter how violently the limelight is, the quality, service and operation are guaranteed brands. With a solid foundation of nutrients, while the new tea drinking pattern is constantly being enlarged, it is also necessary to examine the core under the brand more and stick to the original intention of "going out".

Maybe one day when we re-examine the Chinese milk tea brand's journey to the sea, we will find that we are committed to bringing a good cup of tea to Southeast Asia, which is the Zen way that Chinese new tea drinks are good at laying out overseas markets. Editor/He Yuting