When Chayanyuese came out, how did its imitators live?

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Text/Star Evening

Source/Zinc Scale (ID: znkedu)

Recently, there have been new trends in tea and beautiful colors. First, the two cities of Chongqing and Nanjing have been expanded one after another, and then the “Yangyang Coffee” launched on August 10 has officially entered the coffee track. It is not difficult to see that Chayanyuese, which once took root in Hunan and focused on new tea drinks, has finally moved towards a new development path.

In fact, before Chayan Yuese “comes out”, copying Chayan Yuese has become the wealth code of many brands. Bawangchaji, Chahuanong, Chuchahuayue, Chaliyishi, Shisancha have all been labeled as Yunnan version, Xi’an version, Chongqing version, Guangzhou version and Nanjing version. When it is difficult to find a cup of tea with a pleasant color, these “imitations” have become the second best substitute.

However, as more and more cities are deployed and the product categories of online channels continue to increase, the living space left for “imitations” is also shrinking.

If imitating the color of tea and beautiful colors can bring traffic faster in the early stage of brand development, then how to turn traffic into reserved volume is the real test moment.

Everyone imitates the high flame, and the national style milk tea continues to become popular

On August 4, the official WeChat account of Chayan Yuese posted a tweet: “For the first time in nine years, Chayan is finally coffee.” The article reads, “Shengye Mary Yanshi is the finale of this year’s Tea Yan Sheng Ye series, and it is also a work born with a special mission. This cup of milk tea with coffee flavor is the true meaning of tea Yanyue. first hug coffee.”

On August 10, “Yuanyang Coffee” launched by Chayan Yuese officially opened. Although “Yuanyang Coffee” is an independent brand, it also has the tonality of Chayan Yuese. It is reported that the first store of “Yangyang Coffee” was opened in the Impressionhui business district of Wuyi Square, and it adheres to the policy of direct sales and non-franchising like Chayan Yuese.

At the same time, Chayanyuese will also open its store in Nanjing in mid-August. Although the speed is slow, it can be seen that Chayanyuese is going out of Hunan and conquering one city after another.

However, since its birth, there are indeed more cities where Chayanyuese has been absent. “Ever before the epidemic, I wanted to go to Changsha to drink a cup of tea, but a few years have passed, and I haven’t had a cup of tea, but I don’t care so much anymore.” Youyou, who lives in Kunming, told Zinc Scale , “At first, I went for the reputation of the ‘Yunnan version’ tea, but it tasted really good after drinking it.”

Youyou also mentioned that in the past few years, the halo on Cha Yanyue’s body was very heavy, so everyone wanted to go to Hunan to see its true appearance, but in recent years, there was a feeling of “stepping down from the altar”, and gradually it became more and more important. It lowered everyone’s expectations.

However, Rui Xue, who once drank 10 cups of tea Yanyose on the streets of Changsha in three days, was a little different, “When I drank the tea for the first time, I really felt astonished, and I couldn’t tell the truth. It’s special, but I just want to drink cup after cup.” After the trip to Changsha, Rui Xue returned to Chongqing and has been looking for various alternatives.

“As long as the blogger recommends milk tea with a similar color to tea, I almost always try it, but I still haven’t found a substitute with a score of more than 90 points.” Rui Xue said.

From the more famous Bawangchaji, Chahuanong, Chuchahuayue to Jixiaocha with only a small storefront, Rui Xue is willing to travel thousands of miles to verify it. But it may be a psychological effect, or there may be a gap, but in Rui Xue’s heart, it is still “Wan Wan Lei Qing, but not Qing”.

In fact, these are defined as tea-colored substitutes with different versions and different characteristics, and they have indeed gained a lot from this traffic. According to Inspur New Consumer Report, Bawang Tea Ji has entered the coastal cities of Central China, East China and Southeast China, and has completed the strategic layout of simultaneous expansion in 17 provinces across the country. name;

Tea Talk Lane currently has stores in 10 cities including Xi’an, Beijing, Zhengzhou, Lanzhou, Ningxia, and Qingdao. As of October 2021, the number of stores has exceeded 140;

And Chali Yishi, Zinc Scale found through “digital observation” search that Chali Yishi covers 3 provinces and 11 cities, with a total of 103 stores;

The official website of Shisan Tea shows that there are 16 stores in Nanjing, where its headquarters is located, and it is committed to developing into a chain of more than 300 stores nationwide in the next three years;

Although there are not more than 10 stores in Chucha Huayue, which is the latest to enter the game, it has become a member of the must-drink list for many tourists after arriving in Chongqing.

If it is said that Chayan Yueshen pushed the concept of Guochao milk tea to the highest point of popularity, then these “imitations” who are also eyeing Guochao have jointly “rolled up” the track.

Imitation or plagiarism? It’s really a shortcut

In the new tea drinking rivers and lakes, the battle between Chayan Yuese and Shanzhai brands seems to never stop. Among them, the incident of cracking down on counterfeit tea and coloring is the most out of the circle. In 2019, the Luoqi company behind Chayan Guanse milk tea shop sued Chayan Yuese, claiming that the trademark and font it used were similar to its own trademark, which constituted infringement, and asked Chayan Yuese to compensate for the loss and issue an apology.

Soon after, the claim was dismissed by the court. In the second year, Chayan Yuese sued Luoqi Company in turn, and finally the court ruled that Luoqi Company should stop advertising, false publicity and other acts of unfair competition with the same or similar decoration as Chayan Yuese across the country, and compensate the tea company. Yan Yuese’s economic losses and reasonable rights protection expenses totaled 1.7 million yuan.

This much-anticipated anti-counterfeiting battle ended with a triumphant victory. At the same time, this dispute has also made consumers gradually realize that there are countless “Li Gui” in the new tea market.

Compared with the full copy of the tea color, the “imitations” are more borrowing the product setting and brand style of the tea color.

Specifically, Tea Yanyuese focuses on the practice of Chinese style + pure milk and pure tea, and some products add cream topping and crushed nuts to form the uniqueness of the product.

And this product design appears in the menu of “Imitation”. For example, Bawang Chaji’s spring peach, osmanthus piaopiao, lily rose, and love camellia, tea-talking Meizhanyaohong, charming latte, and light makeup, matcha grapes and yuyuwu that are suitable for tea. Long et al. These products can be seen from the appearance and taste of tea, and the difference is more reflected in the modulation of flavor.

But even so, there are still many consumers who are not willing to buy into this imitation. “It’s true that the taste can be similar to 7 or 8 points, but there is still a gap. The most obvious thing is that you won’t get tired of drinking a few more cups of tea, but these brands can’t.” “Little Maruko” on his own social platform wrote above.

However, after several years of exploration, in fact, these “imitations” have also found a way in the process of borrowing. For example, Bawang Tea Ji has firstly differentiated its appearance through the upgrading and transformation of the brand, and has completed the innovation of the tea base by upgrading the tea blending many times. Then, through explosive products + continuous promotion of new business methods, it gradually occupied a certain consumer’s mind.

The same is true for Tea Talk, which not only has tea kabu, tea latte and pure tea series, but also popular categories such as fruit tea, fruit cheese, hand-pounded lemon, etc., which basically cover most of the new tea categories.

What’s more worth mentioning is that, unlike Chayan Yuese’s strategy of insisting on direct sales and not joining, the above “imitations” have rapidly expanded across the country in the form of franchises in recent years. Establishing a firm foothold in the name of localized tea looks and pleasant colors, and hitting the whole country with the wind of the national tide, perhaps imitation has indeed become a shortcut for the development of new tea brands.

Survive the period of labor pain and continue to “roll life and death”?

The writer Mao Dun once said: “Imitation is the first step in creation, and imitation is the first form of learning.” But the correct imitation should be to constantly make up for one’s own shortcomings after learning from the strengths of others, rather than blindly Copy the work of others.

From the current point of view, except for Bawang Chaji and Chahuanong, which are relatively advanced in terms of the number of stores and the level of financing, they have gradually explored their own characteristics.

Unlike the imitators of leading brands such as HEYTEA and Nai Xue’s tea, because the price of HEYTEA and Nai Xue’s tea are high-end teas, the “imitations” often make a difference in price, and use “flat” Seize the market for the “identity”. The tea Yanyuese itself is priced between 15 and 20 yuan, and it often offers half-price or buy-one-get-one-free activities. It can be regarded as a new tea drink with high cost performance, so its “imitations” are almost at the price. The color is comparable to that of tea, and it is impossible to find an advantage in terms of price.

However, due to the slow progress of Chayanyuese in expanding the city, there has been ample room for “imitations” in the past few years. But now, the development strategy of Chayanyuese’s outward expansion has been carried out steadily, and its strong brand power and popularity have also guaranteed the fan base in various cities. The fierce competition for new tea drinks will only be more “scrambling and dying” in the future.

According to the “China Catering Category and Brand Development Report” data, in the next 2 to 3 years, the growth rate of new tea beverages will slow down in stages and be adjusted to 10%-15%. Another data from iiMedia Research shows that from 2016 to 2021, the market size of the new tea beverage industry has increased by nearly 10 times, but the average growth rate in the next five years is only 6%.

These data show that after the high-speed run in the past few years, the new tea industry may enter a stage of slow development. So in this process, there will be a group of brands that fall behind to be swept away by the wave.

But don’t “copycats” have a chance? “Whether they are criticized for plagiarism or imitation, in fact, these brands have at least gained a certain reputation in this way. From this point of view, they have already won many small brands. But the next thing is more important for these imitation brands. Survive the transitional pain period, gradually increase the loyalty of the target group through innovation and service, and gain a firm foothold in the next stage of the mental war.” Nicole, who is engaged in the supply of new tea raw materials, analyzed Zinc Scale.

With players coming in and out of the new tea drinking track, the competition in the industry is intensifying. It is obvious that brands are constantly invoking in terms of cities, number of stores, and product categories. It can be said that the new tea drinking track has passed the golden stage, and the “imitations” have already entered the door. As for how to walk steadily in the future, it will test all-round strength.

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