Recently, the official ordering mini-program of Hey Tea(Chinese:喜茶) has revealed that Hey Tea's SOHO store in London, United Kingdom, is set to open its doors soon. This marks Hey Tea's second overseas venture, following its successful expansion into Singapore, and represents its first foray outside of the Asian region.
In the past two years, Hey Tea has opened its own stores in Singapore, Hong Kong, and other locations. It has even achieved great success, selling over 2,000 cups per day at Ion Orchard shopping center. As the first Chinese tea beverage brand to enter the overseas market, Hey Tea is also the only tea brand that adopts a direct-operated model instead of a franchise model.
The new Hey Tea store is located on Shaftesbury Avenue and its surrounding streets, which are in close proximity to Buckingham Palace, the Prime Minister's Office, and Leicester Square in London's SOHO district. These streets form London's Chinatown, where a large number of Chinese restaurants and shops are concentrated.
On March 9, 2023, Hey Tea announced the opening of applications for overseas business partnerships, including countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. Just over three months later, the first Hey Tea store in Europe is scheduled to open, with an expected opening date in July or August this year. The speed of Hey Tea's expansion into the international market is undoubtedly impressive.
In the future, Hey Tea may enter the US market. This signifies the brand's expansion beyond Southeast Asia, becoming the second Chinese tea beverage brand to venture into new international territories. Since 2018, a wave of emerging tea beverage brands has risen in China, establishing their presence in Southeast Asian countries. With increasing competition in both domestic and Southeast Asian markets, these new tea beverage brands have now turned their attention to the markets of developed countries in Europe and America.
Currently, both leading brands in the domestic market, such as Hey Tea and Nayuki（Chinese：奈雪的茶）, as well as numerous mid-range brands and even those targeting the lower-tier market, like Mixue franchise（Chinese：蜜雪冰城） , are facing challenges with stagnant traffic and profits. Faced with these issues and the increasingly saturated and competitive domestic market for new tea beverages, HEYTEA has had to look towards overseas markets for broader opportunities. Initially, HEYTEA chose Singapore as its first overseas destination. However, it became evident that the Southeast Asian market is also experiencing saturation, and relying solely on this region would not meet HEYTEA's expectations for a wider market and higher profits. The saturation of the Southeast Asian market has prompted HEYTEA to seek new growth points. Therefore, in March of this year, HEYTEA announced the recruitment of overseas business partners, considering developed regions such as North America and Europe, and has been rapidly progressing with the execution of this plan over the past few months.
Compared to the recently expanded Xicha, Taiwanese bubble tea brands and Ume, founded in the United States, have already gained maturity in terms of localization. Taiwanese-style pearl milk tea has become the favorite type of tea among young people in Europe and America, while Ume has attracted local consumers with its unique decor style and operational activities.
Most consumers in Europe and America tend to prefer highly sweetened beverages, while Xicha's combination of cheese foam, cold brew tea, and fresh fruit creates a relatively lighter taste. Therefore, attracting more European and American consumers through localization adjustments will require time. Additionally, applying Xicha's social media marketing strategies and collaborations with local brands, which have been successful in the domestic market, to the international market will also require careful consideration, experimentation, and adaptation.
For Heytea and numerous other mainland Chinese tea beverage brands, Europe and America present a second market with immense growth potential. However, turning the European and American markets into a second growth curve still entails formidable challenges.