From the “top-tier” milk tea brand to an “outdated internet celebrity”, why did 1DianDian fall behind?

What did 1DianDian go through from being the "top streamer" of milk tea to being an "outdated internet celebrity"? Let's see what the author says.

Recently, 1DianDian has sparked heated discussions among netizens. The reason was that a netizen posted that he felt 1DianDian was slowly withdrawing from the milk tea industry, and then the Weibo topic "Why don't people like to drink YidianDian anymore" became a hot search.

Immediately afterwards, 1DianDian's official Weibo account urgently refuted the rumor and used this topic to promote an upcoming event, with the caption "False, false, false! Who said that Diandian is going to close down?! Dianzi will officially announce a large-scale joint event on November 15."

It is not difficult to see from the hot topic "I will never allow 1Diandian to go bankrupt" that 1Diandian has quite a few loyal users, but this still cannot cover up the fact that the brand's voice is declining.

As a milk tea brand that many people once lined up to buy, why did 1DianDian gradually fall behind? What is holding 1DianDian back?

1. 1DianDian has become an "outdated internet celebrity"

As a milk tea brand from Taiwan, China, in 2012, 1DianDian started to enter the mainland market with Taiwan's hand-shaken tea culture starting from Shanghai.

2015-2016 was the highlight of One Dian Dian. Whether it was the label of Taiwanese milk tea or the elements such as free toppings and hidden menu, they all made it the focus of discussion on social media, and the number of stores increased rapidly.

It is understood that at that time, an article titled "The most comprehensive hidden menu of Yidiandian in history, Shanghai milk tea lovers are crazy!" was widely circulated. According to existing information, this hidden menu involves multiple products, which greatly meets the diverse needs of consumers. It is worth mentioning that the ordering mode of Yidiandian, which allows users to select sweetness and temperature, was well received by users.

The above practices also made its brand popularity reach a peak in 2017. Some netizens said, "In 2017, I had to buy it on behalf of others to drink it, and there were so many people queuing up" and "1 point in 2017 was my white moonlight"...

In 2018, 1DianDian achieved further development with investments from IDG Capital and Sequoia Capital, and its market share further expanded.

However, judging from the number of new stores in recent years, the development speed of 1DianDian has obviously slowed down. According to the data from Zhaimen Canyan, from 2020 to 2022, the number of new stores opened by 1DianDian was 764, 497, and 287 respectively, which is obviously decreasing year by year. As of October 2023, the number of new stores opened by 1DianDian was only 55.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to the slowdown in store openings, the total number of OneDianDian stores is also on a downward trend. According to industry reports, as of February 11, 2021, OneDianDian had more than 4,000 stores; and as of November 2, 2023, its number of stores was 3,018. This means that the number of store closures exceeds the number of new store openings, and the brand power is declining.

According to the poll "Do you often drink 1:10 milk tea?" posted by @梨视频 on Weibo, among the options "Often! My favorite milk tea", "Occasionally", and "I haven't drunk it for a long time", the option "I haven't drunk it for a long time" accounted for the highest proportion, reaching 3,308 votes, and users who called it "my favorite milk tea" had 2,627 votes.

2. Where is 1DianDian trapped?

Once the top brand in the milk tea industry, 1DianDian was gradually overtaken by newcomers, lost its glory, and became a company that many people forget. What trapped 1DianDian included product innovation, weak marketing, market competition, and many other aspects.

The low frequency of new product launches is a significant reason why 1DianDian is gradually "forgotten" by consumers. Ten years ago, 1DianDian's signature milk teas were Four Seasons Milk Tea, Boba Milk Tea, Black Tea Macchiato, etc., which are still the brand's flagship products ten years later. Although these products are well received by consumers, in the flourishing new tea market, the taste that has remained unchanged for ten years has become a classic, but it has also lost consumers' freshness to the brand.

On the other hand, new brands such as Heytea, Chabaidao, and Shanghai Auntie have launched new products at a weekly rate, with new seasonal products emerging in an endless stream, which continue to attract consumers to place orders. However, since 2022, 1DianDian has stopped "lying flat". In 2021, 1DianDian only launched 2 new products, but in 2022, it launched 6 new products, and also set up an option to add 3 yuan to exchange for milk in terms of ingredients.

This year, 1DianDian's frequency of new product launches has significantly increased, with new products launched almost every month, including Tremella Milk Tea and Rose Milk Tea. In addition, it has also begun to add a small amount of fresh fruit to its products, and has upgraded classics such as Yangzhi Ganlu. Recently, it has also launched seasonal new products such as Osmanthus Rice Brewed Oolong and Osmanthus Rice Brewed Milk Tea.

In addition to complaints about the frequency of new product launches, weak marketing is also one of the reasons that have trapped 1DianDian. Milk tea has its own social attributes, and marketing can bring a constant stream of topics to the brand, thereby stimulating users to place orders. Although 1DianDian's marketing has had its moments of glory, it has basically been tepid.

Nowadays, tea brands have various marketing methods, and 1DianDian’s marketing seems to be a bit of a dud. As for joint marketing, the cooperation between Heytea and luxury brand Fendi has set off a wave of social media platforms, with consumers placing orders one after another. The popularity was so great that Lei Jun even posted a Weibo post to “take advantage of the popularity”. The joint marketing between Luckin Coffee and Moutai also swept the social media platforms. The cooperation between new and old brands accurately attracted users from different circles, and the brand popularity continued to rise, creating a classic marketing case.

Mixue Ice City is playing the "high-end card" in marketing. With the Snow King IP as the core of its marketing, it injects a personalized soul into the Snow King by gaining insights into the lifestyles of young user groups, and continuously narrows the distance between itself and users through repeated interactions. This has also prompted Mixue Ice City to become the "top stream" of new tea drinks.

On the other hand, 1DianDian did not make much of a splash on social media platforms, whether it was launching mini milk tea cups during Children's Day or collaborating with Liuliumei. The recent collaboration with Peace Elite was only known to the public after rumors of its closure emerged.

Apart from the factors of the brand itself, market changes are also the reason for the gradual "decline" of 1DianDian. Under the craze of new tea drinks, high-priced brands such as Heytea and Nayuki's Tea have emerged, and a number of brands such as Cha Baidao, Guming, and Shanghai Auntie have emerged in the mid-range market of 10-20 yuan, while Mixue Bingcheng almost dominates the low-end market. In addition, tea brands of sub-categories such as lemon tea and coconut water have also emerged.

As consumers have more choices, the competition faced by 1DianDian is also intensifying. And as the new tea market gradually becomes saturated, many brands have started to engage in "price wars", and Heytea and Nayuki's Tea have also taken the initiative to sink, but 1DianDian did not participate in this price war, which is one of the reasons why it is ignored by consumers.

3. Final Thoughts

It is undeniable that the brand power of 1DianDian is indeed declining in the current turbulent new tea market. However, with years of market accumulation, 1DianDian has gained a large number of loyal fans and good reputation, which is also the core of the brand's survival.

When the "stray dog ​​incident" was making headlines all over the Internet some time ago, 1:00 launched a public welfare project of "Caring for Stray Animals" on the electronic screen in the store. Netizens accidentally discovered that it had been quietly doing charity work, making the brand popular among young people again.

Unfortunately, the popularity did not last long, and there were rumors recently that "1DianDian will withdraw from the milk tea industry." How can 1DianDian revitalize the brand? How can it attract young users? These are the key points that the brand needs to think about now.

Author: Aries, WeChat public account: Marketing Kanke (id: yingxiaokanke)