Milk tea brand proves all the rage in Hunan

An employee prepares milk tea orders at a Chayan Yuese store in Wuhan, Hubei province, in November 2022. [Photo/China Daily]

For many people, new-style tea brand Chayan Yuese has become synonymous with Changsha, Hunan province, an increasingly popular tourist destination among young people. Many travelers have taken to trying the milk tea when visiting the provincial capital and sharing photos of the tea on social media platforms.

In a recent interview with China Daily, founder Sun Cuiying said she credits the brand's popularity to favorable conditions including young people becoming more confident in traditional Chinese culture.

"Young people born after the 1990s are beginning to mature, and they are more confident in Chinese culture. They are also more patriotic so they like Chinese-style products," Sun said.

"We want to thank people for liking us and we feel the pressure is also somewhat intimidating given the product's popularity," she said, adding that the brand will work harder to win even more fans. She also believes the popularity of Changsha is not attributable to a single brand, but is the result of joint efforts from the government and other brands.

Sun and her husband Lyu Liang opened their first milk tea shop in 2013 in Changsha. They had tried other businesses, which all failed.

The company now owns more than 500 shops in 14 cities and employs more than 7,000 people. It expects to open more shops in four cities in Hunan in March and April.

Social media presence

Through its logo and marketing style, Chayan Yuese has a strong presence on social media platforms and is very active in communicating with its fans.

Most of its shops are in Changsha and the city has become a new "IT "city for young people to travel. Drinking Chayan Yuese and posting photos on social media platforms have become common practices for most tourists.

While most of its tea is sold for around 20 yuan ($2.77) a cup, some people have shelled out several hundred yuan to manually carry larger quantities of the tea back to their hometowns.

When the company opened its first shop in Wuhan, Hubei province, in December 2020, the line of patrons stretched for hundreds of meters, leading to some having to wait up to eight hours for a cup of tea.

When the beverage brand opened a pop-up store in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in 2021, it was also met with unreserved enthusiasm among that city's young, well-to-do residents.

Police had to intervene to manage the crowds while scalpers were able to resell a cup of its signature tea — a black tea mixed with milk and topped with whipped cream and crushed pecans — for up to 300 yuan.

Feng Baoyi, 27, came to Changsha with her mother and son from Guangzhou, Guangdong, and the three became big fans of the beverage.

Yang Kun, 25, from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, said he likes the floral taste of the tea, which is also combined with the taste of tea and milk. He drinks one cup of tea from the brand every day in Changsha.

A Chayan Yuese store on Huangxing Road in Changsha in December. [CHEN XIAORONG/FOR CHINA DAILY]

For Changsha University students Zhang Zhuyuan and Chen Huimin, buying branded tea has almost become second nature when hanging out at shopping centers.

They also take pictures of the tea and are eager to post them on social media platforms to show their friends they have tried a new product.

"It tastes nice and not too sweet and it also looks pretty, perfect for social media," they said.

On different social platforms, there are a large number of posts, of which drinks and snacks from the brand taste the best with countless photos.

Some also give ratings for different drinks, while others say they enjoy several cups a day while visiting Changsha.

China's tea culture has undergone drastic changes in recent years as companies have rebranded the once-staid beverage as a high-end, fresh and healthy consumer experience. The resulting products, known colloquially as "new-style teas", are big business. According to research firm iiMedia Research, the value of China's new-style tea market is expected to reach 374.93 billion yuan in 2025, with 26.2 percent of consumers in 2022 likely to consume more new tea beverages in the future.

Sun said that from the beginning, they wanted to incorporate traditional Chinese culture and aesthetics into its products. The brand logo is an image of a traditional Chinese woman and the company has chosen to give its products poetic names, while the decor of its stores all reflect traditional Chinese culture, she said.

Meanwhile, the company also offers traditional Chinese service and treats its customers like guests.

The company did not hit the ground running at the outset. It really started becoming popular in 2018 and 2019 as more people born after the 1990s grow up and become prouder of national culture, she said.

She also credits the company's success to the good business environment in Changsha, especially in terms of fiscal support.

As Changsha focuses on expanding its night economy and making it an even more popular travel destination, it has attracted more tourists to the city, she said.

To cash in on the tourism boom, the brand's stores in popular business centers are open till 2 am, while those in airports and railway stations open up at 6 am.

Meanwhile, the immense popularity of the brand has also created some misunderstandings and even criticism.

Sun said she has learned to view online critique in a more calm and objective way, but is more determined than ever to be her true self.

The company is not eager to expand its scale too fast and will continue to open direct sales stores only to control the quality of its products, she said.

Chayan Yuese is also diversifying its product range.

In 2022, it began marketing coffee brand Yuanyang, and in September, it launched lemon tea brand Good MoreNing. In Mandarin Chinese, ningmeng means lemon.

The coffee house now has more than 90 stores and the lemon tea brand has more than 30 sites, she said.

"They are doing okay as competition in both sectors is fierce, and we want to let our teams explore new possibilities," she said.

Meanwhile, the company is also busy launching a series of side products, such as snacks, tea bottles, clothing, bags, cards and tea bags.

Sun said these products are also making a profit and her team is working to diversify upcoming new products.

In September, the company invested 520 million yuan in building a research and development factory in Changsha.

Sun said the company views it as long-term investment to develop core technologies used in its shops.

She said the company does not have any plan to expand overseas for the time being and will only focus on direct sales.

However, she is optimistic about the milk tea industry, which is still far smaller than the coffee sector in terms of market value.