China is the world’s largest tea producer. In 2025, national tea output reached 3.92 million metric tons, accounting for nearly half of global production. In the same year, China exported 418,800 metric tons of tea, with export value exceeding RMB 11 billion (USD 1.6 billion), up 11.9% and 8.9% year-on-year, respectively.
The figures appear strong. From another angle, however, the underlying issue becomes clearer.
An export value of RMB 11 billion equates to roughly USD 1.5 billion. By comparison, the grocery segment of Associated British Foods, which includes Twinings, reported global revenue of more than GBP 4 billion in 2025, driven by growth at Twinings and another international brand. Before it was spun off by Unilever, Lipton generated about USD 3 billion in annual revenue. The total export income of a major tea-producing country is therefore comparable to the revenue of one or two overseas brands.
The gap is not about output. It reflects differences in brand premium. China’s average tea export price is about USD 4–5 per kilogram, compared with USD 6–8 per kilogram for Sri Lankan Ceylon black tea and USD 25–30 per kilogram for Japanese matcha products. The product category is the same, but branding drives a five- to sevenfold difference in unit price.
A common industry saying holds that 70,000 Chinese tea factories cannot compete with one Lipton. The phrasing is exaggerated, but the underlying issue is real. Chinese tea has category recognition among global consumers, such as Longjing, Pu’er, and Tieguanyin, but few brands are widely recognized by name.
Spring is the peak season for tea exports, making it a useful moment to revisit this issue. Several new dynamics, absent in earlier years, are now converging around Chinese tea’s push overseas.
Exported by weight for 20 years, but brands remain invisible
China’s tea export challenge is longstanding. To understand its persistence, it helps to distinguish between export structure and industry structure.
On the export side, green tea dominates. In 2025, green tea exports reached 369,000 metric tons, accounting for 88% of total export volume and RMB 8.89 billion (USD 1.3 billion) in value. Zhejiang alone contributed more than 40% of total export value. Much of this tea, however, is exported as bulk raw material. Large volumes are shipped to countries such as Morocco, Uzbekistan, and Ghana, where local traders blend, package, and sell the tea under domestic brands. In this chain, Chinese companies act as upstream suppliers, with no direct contact with end consumers and no presence on retail packaging.
This explains a persistent contradiction: China is one of the world’s largest tea exporters, yet Chinese tea brands are largely absent from supermarket shelves in the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
Industry structure compounds the issue. Tianyancha data shows more than 1.6 million tea-related companies in China, most of them small and midsize regional players. Industry concentration is low. Even leading companies such as China Tea and TenFu’s Tea hold less than 5% market share. By contrast, the top five companies in the global coffee market account for more than 30%.
Fragmentation is only part of the challenge.
Overseas consumers may recognize Xihu Longjing, Anxi Tieguanyin, and Yunnan Pu’er, but these are place names and product categories, not brands. They function similarly to Bordeaux wine or Colombian coffee, markers of origin rather than objects of brand loyalty. When a consumer chooses Longjing, the choice is among thousands of producers, with no single brand representing the category.
Tea’s agricultural nature further complicates branding. Quality depends on origin, elevation, climate, harvest timing, and processing methods. Even within a single category such as Longjing, teas from different locations or producers can vary significantly. Standardization is more difficult than in coffee or beer, where production processes can be more tightly controlled.
Global tea markets do offer successful branding models, but they follow different paths:
- Lipton pursued a fast-moving consumer goods model, blending teas from multiple origins into standardized tea bags and distributing them across more than 100 countries.
- TWG Tea in Singapore built a premium lifestyle brand, combining high-end retail with elevated pricing.
- Ito En in Japan focused on ready-to-drink products, with bottled green tea as its core offering, securing more than 30% of the domestic market before expanding overseas.
Across these models, Chinese tea companies have yet to establish a comparable global brand. The constraint is not product quality, but positioning within the value chain. Without direct engagement with end consumers, brand building remains limited.
New tea brands are shaping global perception
Brand expansion requires baseline consumer awareness. In most non-Asian markets, knowledge of Chinese tea remains limited, and consumption habits still center on tea bags and black tea.
Over the past three years, a new factor has begun to change that: the overseas expansion of new-generation tea beverage brands.
Mixue Bingcheng is the largest by store count. By the end of 2025, it had more than 4,400 stores outside mainland China, across 11 markets including Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea.
Chagee has entered overseas markets under the positioning of “oriental tea,” expanding in Malaysia and Thailand in 2025 and moving into North America.
Heytea and Nayuki have also opened stores in cities such as London and New York.
By incomplete estimates, more than 20 such brands have entered overseas markets.
These companies primarily sell milk tea and blended beverages rather than traditional loose-leaf tea. Their broader impact, however, lies in shaping perception. They introduce overseas consumers to Chinese tea as a product that is approachable, modern, and worth trying.
The comparison with Starbucks and global coffee consumption is instructive. Starbucks did not produce coffee beans, but it expanded coffee culture and lowered the barrier to specialty coffee consumption. New-generation tea brands are playing a similar role for Chinese tea, building the cultural foundation for broader adoption.
Early data supports this shift. Since Taobao launched its tea category on overseas platforms in December 2025, sales of further-processed tea products, such as milk tea bags and cold brew tea, have increased by more than 40%, leading category growth. Consumption habits formed through ready-to-drink products are beginning to translate into demand for loose-leaf tea and related products. Tea ware sales have also recorded double-digit growth in markets including Australia, Japan, and Thailand.
Consumer data from Tmall shows that users aged 18–25 increased by more than 40% year-on-year among loose-leaf tea buyers, making them the fastest-growing segment. Many of these users began with new-style tea drinks before moving into traditional products. In the first quarter of the year, Wuyi Rougui sales rose 93% year-on-year, Phoenix Dancong increased 32%, and Keemun black tea grew 30%. Categories previously considered niche appear to be gaining traction.
Challenges remain. Taste preferences vary across markets, supply chains require localization, and brand positioning must be adjusted by region. Even so, these brands have achieved a key milestone: they have moved Chinese tea from an unfamiliar category to one with basic recognition among overseas consumers.
This shift has come through commercial channels rather than official promotion or trade events.
E-commerce reshapes distribution, but mainstream adoption remains uncertain
If new tea brands address cultural awareness, cross-border e-commerce is reshaping distribution.
Traditional export chains are long. Producers sell to exporters, who ship to importers, who then distribute to retailers. Chinese companies operate at the upstream end, with limited influence over pricing and no direct consumer feedback.
Cross-border e-commerce changes that dynamic. For the first time, Chinese tea companies can reach global consumers directly.
Taobao provides one example. Since launching its overseas tea category in December 2025, more than 30,000 merchants have begun selling internationally, with nearly 3.5 million product listings. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia rank among the top markets. Merchants can ship to domestic transit warehouses, with the platform handling international logistics.
Other platforms, including Temu, TikTok Shop, and Shopee, are also expanding food category sales overseas. Together, they create new routes to market that did not previously exist.
Domestic pressures are reinforcing this shift. China’s tea market has exceeded RMB 350 billion (USD 51.3 billion), according to the China Tea Marketing Association, but growth is slowing and overcapacity is emerging. Everyday tea consumption is growing, while demand for high-end gift tea is weakening. Producers are seeking new growth markets.
Policy support is also increasing. In 2025, Zhejiang’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, along with customs authorities in Hangzhou and Ningbo, issued guidance to support tea exports, including measures to help premium brands expand overseas.
Early results are visible. Longchi Gujing, a Xihu Longjing brand, launched exports recently, with overseas sales already accounting for about 20% of total revenue. Xihu Chaye, founded in 1949, reported 30% month-on-month growth in overseas sales after joining Taobao’s international platform.
However, current demand remains concentrated within overseas Chinese communities. Longchi Gujing’s sales are strongest in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand. According to company management, expansion into Europe will take time.
This highlights the central challenge: moving beyond diaspora markets into mainstream local consumption.
Several constraints remain.
Standardization is one. Food safety requirements vary widely. European Union standards for pesticide residues, for example, are stricter than domestic benchmarks, requiring adjustments in cultivation and processing.
Consumer education is another. In Western markets, tea consumption is still dominated by tea bags and ready-to-drink formats. Brewing loose-leaf tea presents a higher barrier.
Localization is also critical. Preferences for packaging and portion size differ. Products that sell well domestically may not translate directly overseas. Some companies report limited direct feedback from international consumers, making product iteration more difficult.
These challenges require time and sustained investment. Brand building is gradual, and alignment with international standards is resource-intensive.
Three forces are now converging to create the conditions for change. New tea brands are building cultural awareness, cross-border e-commerce is enabling direct access to consumers, and domestic market pressures are pushing producers outward.
The gap between conditions and outcomes, however, remains significant. Lipton took more than a century to build global recognition. TWG required nearly two decades to establish its premium positioning. Ito En spent decades consolidating its domestic market before expanding internationally.
Chinese tea’s export model is shifting, from bulk supply to direct-to-consumer channels. The key question is which companies can convert origin advantages into brand equity, and category awareness into brand loyalty.
As the global tea market shifts toward branded consumption, China, as the largest producer, has an opportunity to move beyond supplying raw materials.
Note: GBP, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of GBP 0.74 = USD 1 and RMB 6.83 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 20, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.