The tea beverage industry is in a state of internal competition. How can new brands “jump out of the wall”?

With the upgrading of consumption and the enhancement of health awareness, consumers are constantly pursuing fresh flavors and personalized products, making the competition in the milk tea industry increasingly fierce. In such a market environment, it is extremely difficult for brands to stand out in the fierce competition. From the scale to the marketing and products, why can dark horses emerge frequently in this environment of continuous internal competition? This article will deeply analyze the marketing strategies of well-known tea drinks on Xiaohongshu, and extract practical experience applicable to small and medium-sized brands, to help these brands find their own position in the fiercely competitive market and maximize their brand value.

1. Eight trends in the tea beverage industry

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As shown in the figure, in the past three months, the estimated reading volume of beverages has reached 3.42 billion . You read that right, 3.42 billion exposures in three months. Behind this data that cannot be ignored, it is enough to witness the popularity of the beverage industry in recent times. With consumers' urgent pursuit of personalization and health care, major brands have increased their investment in marketing and innovation, trying to seize the initiative in this market competition.

Among the 3.42 billion explosive readings, both emerging brands and established brands are competing for market share through various channels and means. From social media topic propagation to KOL recommendations, and various online and offline activities and policies, each brand is working hard to enhance its brand image and influence.

It is worth noting that while brands are competing to launch new products, they also attach importance to consumer experience and word-of-mouth communication. Some brands continuously optimize product packaging and formulas through consumer surveys, data analysis and market research, targeting different consumers. At the same time, these brands also work hard on product packaging and store design, striving to bring consumers a new sensory experience.

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In the Xinhong data category search - Food and Beverage - Beverage Preparation Ranking, the most popular one is [Tea Beverage] , with a real-time popularity of 22.1141 million in the past three months , exceeding 95.52% of the beverage preparation category words, among which the popular brands are mostly milk tea brands.

Milk tea has become a fashionable drink for young people to relieve heat and cool down . The audience of the milk tea industry is very broad, including both students and working people, with certain consumption power, who pursue freshness and fashion elements; it is not difficult to see that behind this huge data, it covers a wide range of people, including children, students, office workers, and retirees, who are deeply influenced by milk tea. As a result, milk tea, fruit tea, coffee, and desserts continue to try to expand into new areas, such as introducing healthy elements, launching sugar-free or low-sugar series, etc., to meet the dietary needs of consumers. These innovations not only help brands maintain their leading position in the market, but also bring more choices to consumers. Therefore, user demand and market environment have greatly accelerated the vitality of the milk tea industry. Today, the author Zhuang Jun summarized 6 trends in the tea beverage industry:

1. The trend of live streaming has clearly increased

In the past few years, Xiaohongshu has gradually opened up the live broadcast section. From the two celebrity live broadcasts, it can be seen that the live broadcast section of Xiaohongshu has relatively large room for brand development this year. For the milk tea industry, using the live broadcast platform to show the production process of tea products, important consumer experience and interaction with consumers can increase consumers' trust and curiosity in the brand. Set up some special discounts or limited-time offers in the live broadcast to attract more audiences and improve conversion rates. The rise of live broadcast sales has led to a rapid growth in tea consumption.

2. Brand-effect synergy ushered in a creative boom

Product quality and taste are one of the most core competitive factors. Brand marketing can enhance brand appeal by focusing on the unique highlights, fresh taste and health advantages of the product, echoing the brand image. At the same time, introducing innovative product lines and participating in product creation with consumers is also an effective marketing strategy. For example, launching new products or new series voted by consumers can increase consumer participation and loyalty. With the advantages of short videos in content dissemination, products/brands can be quickly exposed.

3. The trend of lightweight tea bags spreads

More and more tea brands have put a lot of effort into the environmental protection, beauty and practicality of packaging, so that consumers can be satisfied in many aspects such as experience service, aesthetics, and psychological pleasure. Lightweight products such as small cans of tea and tea bags have become mainstream. With the accelerated pace of life, the convenience and convenience of lightweight tea bags are favored by more and more consumers. In brand marketing, the characteristics of intimate packaging can be highlighted, and the advantages of high-quality milk tea that is everywhere can be emphasized. Some environmental protection and sustainable development marketing activities can be carried out, which responds to consumers' attention to environmental protection and has a positive impact on the brand image.

4. Pursuing health and fat loss

As consumers' health awareness increases, the demand for reduced-sugar, sugar-free, and high-quality diets is also increasing. Emphasize the healthy ingredients and low-sugar options of milk tea to attract consumers who pursue health and fat loss. Launch specific series or special products, such as adding super ingredients, protein milk tea, etc., to meet the health needs of different consumers.

5. Third-tier cities have become a low point for the tea industry

As competition in first-tier and second-tier cities intensifies, the milk tea market has shown increasing growth potential in third-tier cities. More brands have opened offline stores in county towns. I remember that there were no Luckin Coffee and Heytea in our county town before. Brands can turn their attention to these cities, build new stores, carry out local characteristic activities, meet the needs of local consumers, build regional characteristic brands, and seize market share. With diverse characteristics and huge volume, the sinking market has become a new front for the growth of new brands, new models, and new consumption.

6. Pay attention to scene marketing

For example, Cha Baidao: Drink Cha Baidao during exercise breaks, and Mixue Bingcheng sing and dance to get free ice cream. Brands can create an image that matches the scenes of consumers' lives, combining milk tea with popular scenes, such as gathering with friends, resting at work, reading, etc., to create a pleasant consumption experience. In addition, cooperating with restaurants and catering companies to provide matching plans or joint promotions is also an effective scene marketing strategy.

2. Analysis of tea brands on Xiaohongshu

1. Overlord Tea Princess

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According to Xinhong data, the total interaction of Bawang Cha Ji in the past 30 days was 323,500. In June, the brand was in the stage of mass expansion. In comparison, more notes were released every day, but the interaction data was not very good. We saw that on June 30, the interaction data reached its peak, and the total increase in interaction on that day increased by 44,400. In the past 30 days, Bawang Cha Ji has released a total of 2,441 notes, with a total of 33,100 comments and a user comment rate of 8%.

(Account Overview: Followers - 74,000, Likes and Collections - 224,000, Notes - 251)

Bawang Cha Ji originated in Sichuan and can be said to be the representative of Sichuan milk tea. It focuses on original leaf fresh milk tea, covers pure tea, fresh fruit tea and related derivative products, etc., combines oriental culture with tea inheritance and innovation to create a new oriental tea shop. Bawang Cha Ji visual marketing:
Barbie pink packaging marketing, the topic #霸王茶姬粉了 became popular, and in less than a week, Bawang Tea Ji easily created a communication with more than 300 million exposures.

Bawang Tea Princess scene marketing

Taking "Oriental New Tea Shop" as the design concept and combining it with new Chinese cultural elements, we have created an aesthetic space with oriental tea culture as the core, and every detail contains traditional cultural aesthetics.

Bawang Cha Ji's differentiated marketing: Seizing the love of contemporary young people for Chinese style culture, the brand directly positions itself as a new Chinese style tea drink. Bawang Cha Ji uses Chinese tea culture as a communication point and is recognized by consumers. From then on, it has formed a unique style dislocation in the tea drink track, quickly focusing on the curiosity and attention of young people. In pursuit of the footsteps of young people, the "dopamine" red tone of the past period of time quickly went viral, and pursued a differentiating keyword called "original fresh milk tea" when Bawang Cha Ji was doing category innovation.

Bawang Cha Ji content marketing: Note types mainly include new product promotion, beverage recommendations, life records, etc. We can see that the content of the note in the picture above has gained high interaction by asking questions and collecting user opinions. Bawang Cha Ji's popular products on Xiaohongshu are mainly its signature drink "Bawang Milk Tea". The selling point of Bawang Milk Tea is its rich taste, rich tea aroma, and rich milk aroma. It also provides a variety of different flavors and combinations to meet the needs of different users. Various promotional activities are regularly launched on Xiaohongshu, such as 15% off on weekly membership days, free drinks for check-ins, limited-time specials, new product tastings, etc., as well as the sports style of festivals + relaxing new life to show users their sports spirit and attract user participation and purchases.

Marketing summary of Bawang Cha Ji: Bawang Cha Ji has built a brand barrier by using refined marketing and adhering to the positioning of original leaf fresh milk tea, and adopting strategies such as big single products to continuously strengthen the concept of "original tea + fresh milk". The Bawang Cha Ji brand emphasizes the concept of new Chinese-style tea drinks, grasps the core of brand culture, emphasizes this concept from multiple aspects, and runs through the entire life cycle of the product. At the same time, through strategies such as public domain, private domain and brand co-branding, it attracts the core user group of Generation Z and attracts traffic in a way that breaks the traditional framework.

2. Ancient Tea

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According to Xinhong data, Gu Ming has published 1,405 grass-planting notes in the past 30 days, with a total interaction volume of 169,500.

(Account Overview: Followers - 379,000, Likes and Collections - 2.07 million, Notes - 591)

Gu Ming's differentiated marketing on Xiaohongshu is mainly manifested in two aspects. First, its brand positioning is high-quality tea drinks, and it creates high-quality tea drinks by selecting high-quality raw materials and unique production processes. These contents are presented in various forms such as exquisite pictures, interesting texts, short videos, etc., and the brand concept and product characteristics are integrated into them. In addition, Gu Ming also cooperates with some KOLs and bloggers to increase brand exposure and user purchase desire through their promotion and evaluation. Diversified content strategies can not only attract users' attention and attention, but also improve users' awareness and favorability of the brand. Tea making tutorials are one of the most popular note types among users. They show the specific steps and techniques of tea making in a graphic way to attract users to learn and try. Knowledge popularization and brand stories can improve users' awareness and favorability of the brand. This diversified note type can attract different types of users to participate and interact.

Gu Ming Marketing Summary:

Compared with Mixue Bingcheng and Chabaidao, Guming is more mature, and compared with Heytea and Nayuki, it is more simple. This is the core memory of the brand perceived by the market.

The more unpredictable the market is, the more it tests the basic market . In the tea industry, Gu Ming is now an excellent student in terms of quality control, product innovation, and online marketing. Its price is also quite competitive, which is very suitable for young people. Behind the achievements is the hard work of one step at a time. With hard-core product strength as the foundation and excellent marketing strategy, Gu Ming has not taken the so-called standard shortcuts, and therefore has become a "treasure milk tea" in the hearts of young people.

3. The Hundred Ways of Tea

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According to Xinhong data, Cha Baidao has a high level of interaction. Judging from the number of likes, favorites and comments, the data is very good. Users like its topics and are willing to participate in them. Cha Baidao's selection of topics and creativity are more popular with users.

(Account Overview: Followers - 475,000, Likes and Collections - 3.407 million, Notes - 383)

Differentiated takeaway business:

When Cha Baidao entered the takeaway business, it found that other stores also had takeaway businesses but the delivery threshold was too high (some required at least two cups for delivery), which was not conducive to expanding the group of single people living alone in first-tier cities. Therefore, Cha Baidao's takeaway business introduced a reasonable delivery threshold (trying to achieve a minimum of one cup for delivery), and achieved an increase in online sales.

Marketing highlights: Hidden drinking methods, one drink can produce 10 or more effects, and is promoted on the Xiaohongshu platform with keywords such as "refreshing" and "low-calorie", forming efficient secondary dissemination. It has the attributes of topic, curiosity, and tasting new things, which drives KOC to create content and form a note matrix.

Visual design: In the design of the LOGO, the sans serif font makes Cha Baidao more youthful and fashionable. Inside the circular graphic logo is the pinyin of Cha Baidao, which is irregularly arranged at the top, middle and bottom, which is different from the current regular graphic logos. The upgraded blue is also clearer and more transparent, giving the brand a unique temperament. Cha Baidao's store decoration is mainly simple, with white occupying a large area of ​​the store and the blue logo becoming a bright presence. The blue Dingding cat, as an absolute embellishment of the space, not only strengthens the connection between pandas and tea drinks, but also strengthens the connection between Cha Baidao and pandas. This brings better publicity to the brand.

Chabaidao Marketing Summary: Chabaidao, as a leading brand of new tea drinks, has risen rapidly in the past 10 years, with more than 5,500 branches across the country. Its tea flavors have won the reputation of "delicious, healthy and fashionable". Behind the thriving new tea drink market is the upgrading of national consumption and cultural confidence. At present, the "Z generation" is becoming the new main force of consumption in China. While the quality of domestic products is constantly improving, domestic hot products are constantly emerging, meeting the multi-level and personalized consumption needs of young people.

3. How do small and medium-sized brands “jump out of the wall”?

It is not difficult to see that this year, big brands have begun to announce store expansion news across the country and go beyond the region. Many emerging brands have also risen rapidly. Entrepreneurs at the forefront of entrepreneurship have said that young people have placed the trend on the milk tea industry. Franchising, innovation, and new store openings have become the top themes in the tea industry. How to establish brand awareness in the minds of users in the early stages of the establishment of new brands on Xiaohongshu, how to quickly launch hot products, and how to quickly obtain traffic entrances on Xiaohongshu have also become a problem that many entrepreneurs are troubled by.

1. Create strong brand memory

Similar to Mixue Bingcheng, in the minds of consumers, it is cheap, and Mixue Bingcheng's good offline services can also leave an impression on consumers. We often see hot songs with modified lyrics, medleys, and dancing for milk tea on Xiaohongshu or other social media. Xiaohongshu has seen a surge of 50,000 notes. In the minds of consumers, Heytea is positioned as having delicious fruit tea and tasty desserts. At the same time, it uses IP collaboration to highlight the brand tone and expand its brand circle through collaboration with many other brands.

This year's popular Snow King and Frog Hurting Each Other quickly went viral. When Mixue Ice City launches new products, Snow King's image and logo are always seen first. For example, Bawang Chaji's lipstick blind box milk tea, which allows users to remove the lipstick blind box when buying milk tea, not only arouses users' curiosity to buy the product, but also allows users to become "tap water" of the brand and share their sense of achievement on various social media.

2. Pay attention to product packaging

Not only on Xiaohongshu, all users pursue all beautiful things. We have seen that many fruit teas and beverages are well-liked by users because of their product packaging. The secret lies in that the brand not only provides a product, but also conveys an attitude towards life, an artistic aesthetic, and a lifestyle that pursues quality.

We need to attract consumers' attention through unique packaging and design. Good design can convey the brand's personality and create brand recognition. This includes not only the appearance design of the product, but also the selection of elements such as color, material, and shape. We can learn from other successful brands, but it is important to have our own unique style and express the core values ​​of the brand through design. Use stories to build a brand. People always remember stories more deeply than facts. Establish an emotional connection with the brand in the minds of consumers and make the brand stand out from many competitors.

3. Innovative product lines and user experience

Every brand needs to have its own featured products, which is the most direct way to distinguish it from other brands. Through innovation, we can attract more consumers and provide them with novel and unique consumer experiences. For example, you can consider introducing seasonal tea drinks, or cooperating with other foods or alcoholic beverages to create a new taste combination. Going further, you can also develop featured products related to local culture or activities to enhance the local relevance of the brand. At the same time, not only products, but also the production process and consumption scenarios of beverages can be innovated. You can consider opening the kitchen to let consumers see the production process of tea drinks, increase transparency and interactivity. Or design a unique in-store environment to provide a more comfortable consumer experience, so that consumers are willing to stay in the store longer.

4. Accurate positioning and market segmentation strategy

In the fiercely competitive tea beverage market, accurate market positioning and market segmentation strategies are the key to enhancing brand influence. You can segment the market based on consumers' age, interests, consumption habits, etc., and then design and launch corresponding products and activities based on the characteristics of these market segments. For example, for consumers with a strong health consciousness, you can launch a series of sugar-free or low-sugar products; for young consumers who like to pursue new things, you can regularly launch limited edition or seasonal new products.

5. Strengthen brand culture

In addition to products and marketing strategies, a successful brand also needs its own culture. Brand culture is the soul of the brand and an important factor in consumers' choice of brand. Brand culture can be reflected in many aspects, such as the brand's mission, values, service concept, etc. These are the key elements that make consumers feel resonant with the brand. We can spread brand culture in various ways, such as brand stories, employee stories, customer stories, etc. At the same time, we can also let consumers participate in brand culture through brand activities, such as charity activities and cultural activities, to enhance their recognition and loyalty to the brand.

6. User-centric

As an emerging brand, we need to use various social media platforms to increase brand awareness. Specific marketing strategies should be adjusted according to different platforms. On Xiaohongshu, by sharing the real experience of using the products, consumers can understand the advantages of our products. At the same time, we can also encourage consumers to share our content by holding various activities, such as raffles or giveaways, to help us expand the influence of the brand. On other platforms, such as WeChat or Weibo, we can focus more on news content, share industry trends, or the latest developments of the brand. At the same time, we can also use these platforms for one-on-one customer service, answer consumers' questions, and increase the brand's praise rate.

7. Pay attention to hot topics and trends

Pay attention to hot topics and trends related to the milk tea industry, as well as hot events in the fields of society, culture, and entertainment. Use social media to publish eye-catching content to closely connect the brand with these hot topics. For example, during the coverage of a popular TV series or variety show, launch a special milk tea related to the theme of the show to attract the audience's attention.

8. Achieve cross-border linkage

Look for well-known brands in non-milk tea fields, conduct cross-border cooperation, and realize win-win business opportunities. For example, cooperate with brands, artists, and celebrities in the fields of fashion, art, and entertainment to jointly launch co-branded milk tea products or related peripherals to attract consumer attention. From the perspective of brand strategy, the value of Heytea's co-branded marketing lies in accumulating and defending the unique style of the Heytea brand through various co-branded cooperation. From the perspective of Heytea, every successful co-branding can add an intangible wealth to the consumer's mental value system. In the process of brand expansion and transformation, these potential wealth will become a strong support resource for Heytea.

9. Product innovation and taste belief

Continue to launch original products and flavors to meet consumer demand. You can combine different festivals, seasons, regional characteristics and other elements to regularly launch new products to trigger topics and hot spots. Actively adopt user opinions, optimize products, and encourage consumers to continue to pay attention to brand dynamics. In the tea beverage industry, reshape the "trend" to break through the communication barriers. The key positioning is to keep up with hot topics, innovate products, seek partners, make full use of social media and online and offline activities, and at the same time build a brand story and core values ​​for communication. Through these strategies, the brand will be able to stand out in the fierce market competition with a razor and win the favor of consumers.

10. Carefully design and build brand IP

For example, the ducks around Linli, Heytea's cups, headphone bags, refrigerator magnets, Shanghai Auntie's key chains, etc. When users buy products, they want to take photos and post them on Moments and social platforms to get a sense of achievement from sharing. This IP must represent your brand and resonate with consumers. For example, the ducks in Linli are a very good brand IP. Then, you can incorporate this IP into the design of your peripheral products. For example, you can design a T-shirt with an IP pattern, a doll with an IP image, or a book with an IP story. When consumers buy and use these peripheral products, they can feel your brand spirit and enhance their sense of identity and belonging to the brand.

Brands need to meet consumer needs and enhance brand influence by gaining a deep understanding of the market, innovating and diversifying products, focusing on users, and strengthening branding and marketing. Brand building is not something that can be achieved overnight. It requires continuous efforts, consistent language and visual style, and continuous release of content that matches the brand image in order to establish a stable brand image in the minds of consumers. The end point of any marketing method is to feed back to the brand and product .

4. Final summary

From milk tea to fruit tea, from fruit tea to desserts, and from desserts to breakfast, the categories of milk tea shops have been innovating. Driven by consumers in the "Z" generation, the tea beverage industry continues to innovate, meeting the diverse needs of consumers in terms of taste, packaging, color, and more. On the other hand, the continuous emergence of new products is also constantly breaking the limitations of existing scenarios and gradually becoming a special medium for young consumers to "enjoy life". This two-way driven innovation has created a vibrant tea beverage market.