Cheese lovers, would you try Cheese Tea?

The brand has been around for more than a decade and claims to be one of the first beverage firms to jump on the new-style tea bandwagon 12 years ago. With more than 4,000 locations overall and around 30 outside of China including London, UK, the brand recently opened a pop-up store in Paris, France, where it hopes to create a stir with its Cheese Tea.

In the beverage space, new-style tea refers to a range of beverages such as cold brew tea, tea latte, fruit tea and cheese tea. Unlike bubble tea which majors on artificial colors and sweeteners, new-style teas typically rely on natural ingredients to tap into the healthy indulgence trend.

Heytea’s Yujia Gu, vice-president, overseas strategy & franchise at Heytea, told us the brand had always been “strict in using real and high-quality ingredients in its products, such as fresh fruits, fresh tea leaves, and 100% pure milk. This ensures an authentic experience with every product, making us differs from the common bubble tea”.

“Collaborating with upstream partners, the company has established fruit bases and sources seasonal fresh fruits from seven countries abroad and 20 provinces in China, ensuring consumers enjoy the authentic taste of each season’s offerings,” Gu added. “In terms of tea leaf quality, Heytea has its own organic tea plantation in China and selects tea leaves from core tea-producing regions in six provinces. This includes sourcing from numerous traditional high-quality tea-producing areas such as Phoenix Mountain in Chaozhou and Fujian’s Ningde, Sanming, and Anxi.”

As for cheese tea, Gu tells us the brand was a pioneer in introducing it to the Chinese market back in 2012. The beverage combines high-quality tea leaves and real dairy cheese, making for an indulgent yet natural drink. “At that time, our founder experienced frustration with the challenge of discovering tea drinks that were both pure in ingredients and delightful, decided to open a tea shop that served the type of tea he loved,” Gu explained.

“He mixed the cheese with whipping cream, and a little salt to create the cheese foam topping on the tea. He refined the formula constantly in his kitchen, to make the cheese tea tasty.”

Heytea’s first store opened in Jiangbianli, Central China and has since expanded far and wide in that market, earning the moniker ‘Starbucks of the East’. The brand currently plans to open stores in Beverly Hills, LA; Time Square in New York City, and Oxford Street in London, UK, where it already operates multiple locations.

Over in France, it has partnered with Chinese eatery Bao Family, both companies’ offerings appealing to a younger generation of consumers. “Our brand appeals to a broad spectrum of young consumers by incorporating Chinese aesthetics, minimalism, trendy and youthful vibe with retro elements in its marketing content design,” Gu said. “Sharing similar brand values, Bao Family celebrates bao and other Chinese classics, with a contemporary twist, through recipes that span the eight culinary regions of China.”

At the Paris pop-up, Heytea’s products will be sold at prices varying from €5.50 to €7.90 per drink, with Cheese Tea priced at €6.50. “In the European market, where powdered bubble teas typically range from €6 to €9, we believe Heytea’s presence will offer local consumers a completely new experience with tea products,” Gu added.

Is Paris’ cheese-loving consumer ready for Cheese Tea? Discussing the brand’s market research findings, Gu said: “What’s interesting is that we’ve received great feedback here. One of the customers said that Heytea is the first tea drinks brand who has an open kitchen here in Paris. They love the natural and rich flavor of our drinks. And it is highly welcomed in the Western market where the consumers can clearly know what are included in the products. And we believe that the youth culture in Western markets shares great similarity with what is in China. We are quite confident that our products and brand experience will be loved by the Gen Z consumers worldwide.”

The Paris pop-up store, which opened July 12 and will operate until August 15, is located at 10 rue Bréguet in the 11th arrondissement. On offer are Grape Boom (Original), Mango Grapefruit Boom, Supreme Brown Sugar Bobo Milk (Original), and Cheese Green Tea (Original), with daily flavors that will include a wide range of fresh fruits, custom tea bases sourced from tea-producing regions in China, and dairy milk.

Conluding, Gu said: “Heytea is testing the waters of the European market with our pop-up store in Paris, and we’ve received great feedback from local consumers. This gave us confidence and we eagerly look forward to Heytea's future presence in Paris.

“Our strategic expansion plans have extended to various countries including Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and South Korea. Besides, we will seek for strong presence in wider Europe, at iconic locations in renowned cities.”

What's the worth of the new-style tea market?

According to an industry report released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association and e-commerce platform Meituan, the value of China's new-style tea market alone could exceed 200bn yuan (around $28bn) in 2025.

The same report estimated that there were more than 515,000 new-style tea stores in China at the end of August 2023, an increase of 36% from 2020.