New tea drinks are collectively "lighter", and we see the formula for future milk tea hits

As consumer demands change, competition in the new tea beverage market is becoming increasingly fierce, and major brands are seeking to provide healthier and more refreshing tea beverages. This article will take you to explore the development trend of the new tea beverage industry, reveal the formula for future hot milk teas, and the deep logic chain behind the healthy involution of new tea beverages. Let's take a look!

For this generation of young people, new tea drinks have been extended into a new type of mood "regulator" and a "label" of exquisite life. When they are emo, they have a cup of milk tea with dense milk cap, rich flavors, big pieces of fruit, and creative appearance, which maximizes the emotional value.

But recently, the market trend has changed. Many tea brands such as Bawang Chaji and Heytea have begun to emphasize health, freshness and no burden. It is foreseeable that as consumers pay more and more attention to health, the new tea drinks in the future will not only be delicious and have emotional value, but also health and burden reduction will become the new keywords.

How to find the optimal solution in taste, emotional value and health will inevitably become a new issue that new tea brands need to face in the next period of time.

According to the "2023 Plant-Based New Tea Drinks White Paper", the use of fresher and lighter natural ingredients is the core idea for the health upgrade of new tea drinks. One of the typical trends is the health upgrade of "milk-based".

Upstream suppliers of raw materials also responded very quickly. Foodaily noticed that Hairong Technology, an upstream dairy supplier in the tea beverage industry, recently launched a series of "4 0" dairy-based products for catering, featuring 0 non-dairy creamer, 0 creamer, 0 hydrogenated oil, and 0 trans fat, to meet the needs of new tea beverage brands and consumers for health and low burden.

With the change in the demands of young consumers, how will the story of new tea drinks be told in the second half? How should brands upgrade under the idea of ​​refreshing, burden-free and healthy?

What is the next solution for the layout of healthy new tea beverages? What consumer pain points and problems does Hairong Technology's "Four Zeros" series solve?

1. New tea drinks are creating a health storm; it is not enough to just taste good!

Following the expansion of condiments, fruits, prices, and collaborations, the new tea beverage industry is now beginning to “roll” on health.

In August this year, Bawang Cha Ji announced the calorie tables of its first six products. As long as you enter the name of the corresponding product in the Bawang Cha Ji official account dialog box, you can get the product's ID card. In the product ID card, consumers can very intuitively know the calorie value of each cup of product in different specifications, as well as the content of trace elements, and can also clearly understand the origin, craftsmanship and flavor of each product.

In order to give consumers more initiative and provide them with healthier product choices, we have launched low-burden sugar control areas on store menus, ordering apps and other channels.

In October, Heytea announced that it would disclose the formula ingredients, nutritional content and genuine quality ingredient traceability information of all its products on sale. By opening the recipe reveal in the mini program and randomly selecting a product, you can see everything from the raw material formula, nutritional content to calories at a glance.

At one time, many brands in the industry, such as Shuyi Herbal Jelly, Cha Baidao, CoCo, and Guming, began to create health concepts, labeling themselves as healthy by making ingredients transparent and using real tea and real fruits, accelerating the health upgrade of tea drinks.

The same is true for the coffee market. Luckin Coffee, Kudi, Tims Coffee, Nova Coffee and many other brands have also emphasized that their products are healthier and less expensive.

In fact, looking back at the trends of new tea beverages that have become popular in the past year, it is revealed that new tea beverages are gradually moving towards a "lighter" direction with healthier and fresher taste.

Whether it is Bamboo Nodame of 100% Tea, Boya Juexian of Overlord Tea Princess, or Cha Baidao's announcement of sugar reduction, it is not difficult to find that in terms of being committed to making "healthy tea products", tea brands are insisting on "subtracting" products and "adding" to health. By not adding small ingredients and making "original leaf milk tea" that is refreshing, non-greasy and more fragrant, consumers' taste trend of "refreshing and non-greasy" is met, achieving the "low-burden" product characteristics.

The entire street drink track brand has set off a wave of healthy competition. Clean labels, reducing additives, and pursuing naturalness have become new directions for the industry.

Why did this change happen?

Foodaily summarizes two reasons from the perspective of industry and consumption.

1. From an industry perspective, new tea drinks have gone through the stage of competing in "concepts" and entered the second half of the competition. Brands need to start competing in terms of product, R&D, and supply chain strength. According to the "2023 China New Tea Drink Industry Panorama", the total number of new tea drink stores in operation will be about 486,000 by the end of 2022, an increase of more than 28% from 378,000 at the end of 2020; the crowded tea drink track has brought diverted consumers. For new tea drink brands, to create attractiveness, they cannot rely solely on marketing with homogenized concepts. They need to recognize and consider what the real needs of consumers are and how R&D innovation can help.

2. From the perspective of consumers, in recent years, consumers have paid more and more attention to healthy and light diets, and have become ingredient-oriented, paying more and more attention to the specific ingredients of food, such as calories, fat, protein and other subtle indicators. In 2023, the average monthly search volume for light food-related videos such as "0 sugar", "low calorie", and "low fat" on Douyin e-commerce has exceeded 400,000.

Mapping to the healthy light food track, according to the "2023 Douyin E-commerce Healthy Light Food Trend Report", the market size of low-fat, low-salt and low-sugar foods in China has reached 31.2 billion yuan in 2022, and will continue to grow in the future, with an estimated scale of 51.2 billion yuan in 2026.

These demands for health are also reflected in the reduction of milk tea consumption and intake. For a long time, consumers' cognitive bias and label of "milk tea is unhealthy" have been like a dark cloud hanging over new tea brands.

iMedia Research conducted a survey to explore the reasons why Chinese consumers consume less new-style tea drinks. 49.% of consumers believe that it is unhealthy, and 42.2% believe that it will make them fat. Health has become the main demand of consumers when purchasing new-style tea drinks.

Specifically, consumers' anxiety and concerns about the health of milk tea mainly come from ingredients such as high sugar, high calories, creamer, non-dairy creamer and trans fatty acids in milk tea.

However, the health-oriented new tea drinks have a key difficulty, which is that it is not just a matter of adding or subtracting, but it needs to maintain the existing delicious and healing properties. When many brands reduce sugar and burden in order to make the drinks healthier, they often ignore the original flavor experience of milk tea, and fail to achieve a balance between health and deliciousness. The consequence of doing so is often that the delicious and indulgent taste experience that initially attracted consumers is diluted.

On social media, many netizens shared their experiences of failing to drink sugar-free and healthy milk tea. Even though young people's consumption of new tea drinks has gradually evolved from the spiritual need for healing through high-value products to the health needs for body management and health/wellness, it does not mean that consumers only focus on health. Adults, of course, want all three: health, deliciousness, and emotional value.

If we review the development history of new tea drinks in China, we will find that over the past decade, from real ingredients such as real tea and real fruit to reduced sugar, fat and non-dairy creamer, the product iteration of new tea drinks has always been based on health and quality. It is foreseeable that with the leading brands taking the lead in betting, the basic logic of future hot-selling tea drinks will definitely be to combine health, deliciousness and emotional value. However, in the face of the picky demands of consumers, how to find a new balance between the three is both a business opportunity and a huge challenge for major new tea drink brands.

2. Behind the light-burden appeal of new tea drinks, new ideas for hot-selling products are coming

How to make delicious drinks that are both healthy and delicious and make consumers willing to pay for them? Different brands have different approaches.

Taking Shuyi Herbal Jelly as an example, according to the person in charge of product research and development of the brand, the new plant-based tea drink "Orange Mountain Flower Tea" was developed after dozens of times of blending different flavors. During the research and development process, aroma was used as the core of the product, and the fragrance of camellia and the taste of orange were paired with oat milk, blending the fruity, wheat and tea aromas in a balanced way. The taste is distinct and refreshing and not greasy. The product packaging is also very outstanding. After only 10 days online, the sales of the single product have exceeded one million.

To sum up, there is this idea for a hit product.

1. Natural, healthy, and real ingredients are the biggest killer

The raw materials for early tea drinks were mainly tea powder and creamer, supplemented with synthetic additives and artificial pigments to provide flavor and color, and could be directly mixed with water. The main customer group was young consumers represented by students.

In the nearly 10 years since then, milk tea has gradually become richer in flavor, starting with tea dregs as the base, and still using creamer to make it rich in taste and low in cost;

Since 2016, the raw materials of new tea drinks have pursued diversity and high standards, paying more attention to the selection of raw materials and the refinement of processing technology, using fresh tea and real fruit.

From this perspective, the research on the "freshness preservation" of natural raw materials has become the focus of each brand. For example, various brands have been moving towards planting bases. In terms of sugar selection, natural sugars such as monk fruit and stevia have been added to the product formulas of Nayuki Tea and Heytea. In terms of milk base upgrades, natural plant-based raw materials such as oats, almonds, and rice milk have also become new choices for milk bases.

2. More detailed reduction, from sugar and fat to non-dairy creamer and creamer

In terms of subtraction, the main theme of health upgrade of new tea drinks has undergone more detailed and professional new changes.

In the early days, when the health trend first started, "reducing sugar" was the core demand. People's focus on the health of milk tea was mainly on lowering sugar and reducing fat. In order to cater to consumers' pursuit of the "reduced sugar and low fat" concept, many tea brands have successively launched options with different sweetness levels such as sugar-free, three-point sugar, and five-point sugar.

With the rise of people's awareness of healthy consumption and the gradual development of new tea drinks towards refinement, people are paying attention to unhealthy ingredients such as non-dairy creamer, creamer and trans fat while paying attention to reducing sugar and fat.

In a series of tea brands' actions to enhance health, we can see that trans fatty acids, non-dairy creamer, and creamer are high-frequency keywords that are closely watched by consumers and are rejected by brands from their products.

3. Create memorable new flavors and tastes

Meeting the taste and health needs of young consumers and creating a distinctive and memorable taste are the key areas of focus for new tea brands.

For example, the popular idea this year is to make the taste lighter. Consumers nowadays want to "drink" milk tea purely, so refreshing and light-burden tea drinks have become popular.

In addition, the emergence of new plant-based tea drinks that highlight freshness and health has also brought new product options to the market. Plant protein has the advantages of zero lactose, zero cholesterol, more dietary fiber, and is more refreshing to drink. In addition, consumers already have a certain understanding of plant milk and have a good acceptance, so plant-based drinks have also become a selling point for brand merchants.

According to the data of the "2022 China Beverage Industry Product Report", the new popular trend of plant protein dairy products represented by oat milk, coconut milk, soy milk, etc. is emerging. According to statistics on the plant protein dairy products used by sampled tea brands in 2021, 170 coconut milks, 31 oat milks, and 2 soy milks were used, and the market share is still growing.

3. Supply chain is surging, and the healthy involution of new tea drinks will eventually return to the competition for raw materials

According to Korn Ferry Consulting statistics, major ready-made beverage brands will launch a new product every 5-8 days on average in 2022. It is not easy to achieve a balance between health and deliciousness for each product.

These demands for healthier and better-tasting tea drinks ultimately lead to upstream and supply chain innovation. Ultimately, the healthy development of new tea drinks ultimately comes back to the competition for product solutions.

This year, brands with strong R&D capabilities have begun to invest in raw materials and supply chain, and will focus on upgrading milk bases that can help with both health and taste. For example, Bawang Cha Ji officially announced the launch of "Ice Brown" and Heytea launched "New Tea Drink Special Milk".

However, not all new tea beverage entrepreneurs have the confidence and strength to invest heavily in R&D and supply chain. Products that can solve problems need to appear on the raw material side.

The upstream wind direction is also very sensitive. As a major dairy product supplier in the upstream of the tea beverage industry, Hairong Technology took the lead in laying out its product line and recently launched a series of "4 0" milk-based upgraded products, 0 non-dairy creamer, 0 creamer, 0 hydrogenated oil and 0 trans fat, including Hairong Zhen Light Milk, Hairong Beverage Condensed Cream and Hairong Fragrant Milk Base, to better serve new tea beverage brands and consumers' health upgrade experience.

What are the characteristics of Hairong Technology's solution? What demands does it understand? How can it meet the healthy upgrade of brands? Let's find out.

4 zeros, full of security, dispelling consumers' health anxiety

Hairong Technology's new series of products focus on "4 zeros", namely 0 non-dairy creamer, 0 creamer, 0 hydrogenated oil, and 0 trans fat. They are light in weight and taste, reduce the fat burden, and are very friendly to tea lovers.

The core is to understand that consumers’ demands for healthy ingredients are increasing and becoming more specialized. As mentioned above, from reducing sugar and fat to focusing on more subtle ingredients, such as non-dairy creamer, creamer, trans fat, etc.

Improve the mellowness of tea drinks, and use light and mellow milk base as the "flavor partner" of tea drinks

From the trends of new products in autumn and winter this year, we can see that milk tea is pursuing a lighter and lighter taste, while coffee is pursuing a richer taste. Luckin Coffee upgraded its yogurt latte, and Starbucks launched a series of "strong" coffees in a small green cup, emphasizing the rich taste. The iterative competition for milk in coffee is to achieve a richer and fuller milk flavor, and consumers' demand for a rich but not greasy taste and a clean label will affect the final performance and appeal of the product.

Currently, many tea shops use the same milk ingredients as coffee, but there are certain differences in the taste and style of tea and coffee. Unlike the "bitter and mellow" coffee, the taste of tea is more refreshing and varied. Therefore, the demand for dairy ingredients for new tea drinks pays more attention to flavor and taste. They need to be paired with dairy products that can highlight the sweetness, are not heavy, and have a smooth taste to stimulate the tea aroma, rather than being "suppressed".

The fragrant milk base launched by Hairong Technology, while maintaining the "four zeros", adds imported milk, which can increase the mellowness by 6 times, saying goodbye to the creamer powder feeling, and does not steal the aroma of coffee and tea, effectively improving the mellowness of the taste of tea.

Hairong Zhen Light Milk, in terms of improving the taste, Zhen Light Milk has a refreshing and non-greasy texture, which can well set off the taste of tea and is very suitable as the milk tea base for light milk tea.

Hairong beverage concentrated cream series can cater to both coffee and milk tea. When used in milk tea, it can make the tea aroma rich and the taste smooth. When used in coffee, it can make the coffee milk aroma full and the coffee flavor mellow.

Helping stores reduce costs and increase efficiency, the versatile milk base helps products "get it done in one go"

With the development needs of chain stores, standardization and high efficiency, milk bases that are easy to operate, high-quality and stable will be standard in new tea shops.

Hairong’s newly launched “Four Zeros” series of products can all be stored at room temperature. Stable and efficient preservation can also ensure the continuous supply of products, allowing the flavor advantages of tea drinks to be fully reflected, taking into account health, flavor and operability.

IV. Conclusion

According to research data from iMedia Consulting, consumers' demand for new tea drinks continues to rise. In 2023, the scale of China's new tea drink market will reach 333.38 billion yuan. China's new tea drinks still have huge market potential and room for growth.

It is foreseeable that in order to meet the growing demand for healthy consumption, the new tea beverage industry is bound to experience crazy internal competition. The speed of innovation and advanced innovation awareness will continue to drive the rapid development of the industry, and the process from upstream raw materials to downstream innovative products will be faster and of higher quality.

What kind of companies will win in the end? We believe that the key is to be consumer-oriented and provide consumers with a better, tastier and healthier new tea drinking experience through process upgrades and product innovation. At the same time, it is also necessary to actively layout the industrial chain, optimize the production process, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and provide consumers with more competitive prices and better services.

In the future, we look forward to more innovations and continuing to provide the new generation of young consumers with healthier and more delicious tea products, so that young people can feel emotionally comforted and no longer have health anxieties.

References:

1. Coffee is catching up with tea in the new releases, the 2022 beverage report is here! Drink Power Lab

2. With a subsidy of tens of millions, why did Heytea spend so much money to launch a "new tea drink special milk"? , Coffee Gate

3. There is a new solution to the problem of "changing milk" in tea drinks! China Beverage Express

4. Special report on the new tea beverage industry: the track is expanding rapidly, high-end players are building multi-dimensional advantages, and future think tanks are

5. Where will the new tea beverage industry go in the second half? Check out the answer in this 20,000-word research report, Wu Xiaobo Channel

Author: Miriam Zhang

WeChat public account: Foodaily Daily Food (ID: foodaily)