World's First! Smiley Opens Tea Shop!

For more professional coffee knowledge exchange and coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add private WeChat: FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

The tea beverage market is welcoming another "traffic-generating" player! Recently, according to Beijing Business Daily, a yet-to-open tea shop named SMILEY tea has appeared in Beijing's Chaoyang Joy City. The store's barricade reads: "SMILEY tea, the new-style tea beverage brand under the 50-year-old international IP SMILEY, is launching in Beijing, China, with its global flagship store opening soon."

Beijing Business Daily has learned that SMILEY tea has obtained SMILEY IP authorization and is a tea beverage brand under this IP. The national flagship store is expected to officially open on October 1st. The head of SMILEY tea's marketing department stated that unlike conventional tea brands, SMILEY tea focuses on original leaf steam tea, which uses Western coffee-making methods to prepare tea. Main products include lattes, hand-poured tea, milk tea, special tea beverages with alcohol elements, and ice cream.

What is Steam Tea?

Steam tea refers to steam-extracted freshly brewed tea. Tea leaves are placed in a filter cup and then heated to create steam that rises from bottom to top, allowing water vapor to pass quickly through the tea leaves. The resulting tea tastes sweet, has a rich aroma, and a smooth texture, making it a modern new method for brewing tea. It is currently popular in central and northern Taiwan and was first exhibited at the 2005 Taipei International Food Show.

According to the brand's负责人, SMILEY tea will position itself in the mid-range market, primarily targeting young consumers born between 1990-1995. After the opening of the Chaoyang Joy City flagship store, a second Beijing location will be prepared, expected to open around the end of the year or beginning of the new year.

Although the store has not yet opened, a SMILEY tea ordering mini-program has already been launched, and the store list displays exactly this location.

The Iconic Yellow Smiley Face

The "yellow smiley face" that has been trendy for half a century will appear on milk tea and coffee cups! It will surely spark a wave of photo-check-in trends. Public information shows that SMILEY was founded in 1974 against the backdrop of the social crisis of France's "May Storm." France was in a depressed social environment. To help people escape the psychological gloom, French journalist Franklin Loufrani first proposed the concept of "Smile France" in France Soir and founded The Smiley Company for licensing. Today, through continuous cross-industry licensing, The Smiley Company has become one of the top 100 licensors worldwide.

As an internationally renowned brand dedicated to spreading happiness, SMILEY allows the optimistic and positive smiley image to permeate all aspects of people's lives through various types of products. It has been made into balloons and stickers, printed on T-shirts and socks. With the joint promotion of numerous international brands, it quickly spread worldwide, and the classic smiley pattern is now one of the most recognized symbols in the world.

IP Collaborations in the Tea Market

Facing fierce competition in the tea beverage market, brands like Heytea and Nayuki have all attempted to leverage popular IPs and achieved good results. The approach of the new brand SMILEY tea seems unsurprising.

The tea industry has never lacked new entrants, and collaborating with popular IPs to monetize traffic is no longer new in the tea world. When the TV drama "Love Between Fairy and Devil" was popular, Nayuki "timely" collaborated with the drama's IP. Related beverages sold over 10,000 cups within 8 minutes of launch, and related topics received over 200 million reads.

Earlier this month, Heytea's collaboration with the open-world adventure game "Genshin Impact" was also extremely popular! This collaboration had both online and offline channels. The online activity officially launched at 12:00 on September 5th. In less than an hour, players completely sold out the first batch of online inventory, directly turning the products into "pre-order" items.

Challenges for SMILEY tea

Although SMILEY tea enters the market with its own traffic, for a new tea brand, this means competing with established tea brands that have deeply cultivated this field. This remains a significant challenge for SMILEY tea. In terms of brand development, while collaborating with SMILEY IP can generate traffic, it also carries risks. Focusing on the product itself, innovating based on a solid product foundation, and maintaining innovation and profitability capabilities are key to long-term success.

Image source: Internet

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473