Can a zealous tea chain be China鈥檚 answer to Starbucks?
Print Edition
In the global race to dominate the lucrative beverage market, coffee has long reigned supreme. Starbucks turned a simple cup of java into a cultural ritual, building an empire on a caffeinated lifestyle.
But in China, a challenge is rising 鈥 not from beans, but from leaves.
Meet Chagee, or Bawangchaji in Chinese. It鈥檚 a new-style brand that鈥檚 reinventing traditional tea culture for the modern age. And with its successful debut on New York鈥檚 Nasdaq exchange on April 17, the brand is brewing ambitions that stretch far beyond its home turf.
Founded in Yunnan in 2017, Chagee is no ordinary milk tea brand. It calls itself a 鈥渘ew-style tea beverage brand,鈥 but that barely scratches the surface.
Think: part premium teahouse, part boutique coffee shop, part minimalist lifestyle label. Its sleek stores, uniformed staff and curated menu evoke a sense of deliberate design, a familiar echo for anyone who鈥檚 stepped into a Starbucks Reserve outlet.
The marketing strategy is working. Chagee has expanded at a staggering pace, operating 6,440 teahouses at the end of last year, including outlets across Southeast Asia.
Chagee鈥檚 initial public offering in New York has been the largest US listing for a Chinese consumer brand since 2021. In the prospectus for its IPO, the company reported 2024 revenue of 12.4 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion), with net profit surging 213 percent from a year earlier. These are numbers that investors and even the biggest names in the coffee house industry can鈥檛 ignore.
Chagee isn鈥檛 chasing Starbucks by accident. Its brand strategy is intentional and tight. Instead of seasonal gimmicks, it focuses on a limited line-up of just 19 core beverages 鈥 mainly brewed milk teas made with real tea leaves. Three signature drinks alone account for more than half of its sales. This 鈥渄o-a-few-things-but-do-them-well鈥 model recalls Apple marketing more than that of bubble tea competitors.
But Chagee鈥檚 secret ingredient may be cultural storytelling.
The Chinese name Bawangchaji is a nod to the Peking Opera classic 鈥淔arewell My Concubine.鈥 The logo features a huadan, an archetypal female character traditionally played by a male actor in times gone by.
The storytelling branding is a bit reminiscent of the Starbucks, which took its name from a character in Melville鈥檚 鈥淢oby Dick鈥 and drew its logo from the mythology of sirens whose sweet songs lured sailors to shipwreck.
Chagee outlet interiors balance East Asian esthetics with restrained modern touches. It鈥檚 a branding steeped in identity and one that resonates with younger consumers who crave both global style and local soul.
That cultural confidence may be its biggest edge, or its biggest test, as it pushes abroad. So far, it鈥檚 found a firm footing in Southeast Asia, where tea culture is familiar. But its sights are now set on the ultimate prize: the US market. Chagee has said that it plans to open its first US outlet in a Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles later this spring.
That won鈥檛 be easy. In America, tea has yet to become a common lifestyle choice; it鈥檚 still mostly seen as either a wellness drink or a coffee alternative. Chagee will have to do more than serve good tea; it must redefine what tea means to a Western audience. That involves educating consumers, building new rituals and tweaking formats without losing its essence.
Fortunately, the timing might be ideal.
For starters, there are now about 4.7 million people of Chinese descent living in the United States, according to the latest census estimates. And Gen Z consumers in the US, no matter what their ethnicity, are globally tuned-in, visually driven and authenticity obsessed.
Chagee鈥檚 minimalist esthetics, photogenic packaging and cultural backstory are tailor-made for the Instagram age. And its price point, akin to Starbucks, positions it as an accessible luxury.
Still, the challenges are real. Competitors like HeyTea and Nayuki are expanding globally. Coffee chains like Luckin are undercutting on price. And Chagee鈥檚 reliance on a few star products, while efficient, leaves little room for error if trends shift quickly. Innovation will be key but so will discipline.
There鈥檚 also geopolitics to consider. A Chinese consumer brand going public must contend with regulatory scrutiny and shifting public sentiment abroad. For Chagee, exporting tea means exporting culture. That requires translating not just flavors and names, but also rituals and values. Western consumers prize speed and convenience. Chagee offers ceremony and meaning. Can the two meet in the middle?
Yet what Chagee offers is genuinely new. For decades, global beverage trends have been stuck in remix mode 鈥 more caffeine, less sugar, new syrups, same game. Chagee鈥檚 proposition is different: tea not just as a drink but as a narrative of heritage, bottled, branded and made shareable.
What makes Chagee compelling isn鈥檛 just what it sells; it鈥檚 what it stands for. In an era where consumers seek experiences with depth and design, Chagee sells a taste of modern China that is confident, stylish and steeped in tradition.
If Starbucks can successfully export American coffee culture to the world, why can鈥檛 Chagee do the same in reverse and make Chinese tea culture cool?
The brand may still be writing its early chapters. But the question is no longer whether Chinese tea can go global. Rather, it鈥檚 who will lead the charge. And Chagee may be well positioned to do just that.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
