After Luckin Coffee ran into trouble due to its fraud scandal, Starbucks biggest challenger in the growing Chinese beverage sector might now be a tea chain.
China’s new tea trend is a craze that has inspired customers to wait in line for hours just to buy a cup of tea. While the country has a long history of tea-drinking culture, new tea brands are now refining and pioneering innovative concepts with drinks like fruit tea and cheese tea.
Heytea, and Nayuki, both Shenzhen-based companies, are the two most notable brands with the potential to compete with Starbucks on key areas including customer base, price, and in-store experience. They also have a strong appeal to younger consumers, most of whom were born in China after 1990.
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To catch up with Starbucks, however, Heytea and Nayuki still have a long way to go. The US coffee giant already has 4,400 locations in China, with plans to open hundreds more this fiscal year. By comparison, Heytea and Nayuki combined have less than 1,000 locations across the country. Last but not least, they also have to fend off intense competition from other domestic brands.
To learn more about new tea brands and the challenges that they face, watch this video by KrASIA.
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