World's First! Smiley Opens Tea Shop!

The tea beverage market is about to get another traffic magnet. According to Beijing Business Daily, a not-yet-open tea shop named SMILEY tea has appeared in Beijing's Chaoyang Joy City. The store barricade reads: "SMILEY tea, the new-style tea beverage brand under the 50-year-old international IP SMILEY, is launching in Beijing, China — its global flagship store opens soon."

Beijing Business Daily reports that SMILEY tea has obtained SMILEY IP authorization as a tea brand under the IP, with the national flagship store expected to officially open on October 1st. The head of SMILEY tea's marketing department said that unlike conventional tea brands, SMILEY tea focuses on original-leaf steam tea — tea prepared using Western coffee-making methods. Main products include lattes, hand-poured tea, milk tea, specialty tea drinks with alcohol elements, and ice cream.

What is Steam Tea?

Steam tea is steam-extracted freshly brewed tea. Leaves go into a filter cup, heat generates steam that rises bottom-to-top, and the water vapor passes quickly through the leaves. The result tastes sweet, richly aromatic, and smooth — a modern new way to brew 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 representative, SMILEY tea will position itself in the mid-range market, targeting young consumers born between 1990 and 1995. After the Chaoyang Joy City flagship opens, a second Beijing location is planned for around the end of the year or early next year.

Though the store hasn't opened yet, a SMILEY tea ordering mini-program is already live, listing exactly this one location.

The Iconic Yellow Smiley Face

The yellow smiley face that has been trendy for half a century will now appear on milk tea and coffee cups — a guaranteed wave of photo check-ins. Public records show SMILEY was founded in 1974 against the backdrop of France's "May Storm" social crisis. With the country in a gloomy mood, French journalist Franklin Loufrani proposed the "Smile France" concept in France Soir and founded The Smiley Company for licensing. Through continuous cross-industry licensing, The Smiley Company has become one of the world's top 100 licensors.

As an internationally renowned brand devoted to spreading happiness, SMILEY lets its optimistic image permeate daily life through every kind of product — balloons and stickers, T-shirts and socks. Promoted jointly by numerous international brands, it spread rapidly worldwide, and the classic smiley pattern is now among the most recognized symbols on earth.

IP Collaborations in the Tea Market

Facing ferocious competition, tea brands like Heytea and Nayuki have all leaned on popular IPs — with good results. The new brand SMILEY tea's approach comes as no surprise.

The tea industry has never lacked newcomers, and IP collaborations are old hat. When the drama "Love Between Fairy and Devil" was hot, Nayuki "timely" teamed up with the show's IP: related drinks sold over 10,000 cups within 8 minutes of launch, and related topics drew over 200 million reads.

Earlier this month, Heytea's collaboration with the open-world game "Genshin Impact" was equally explosive. Spanning online and offline channels, the online activity launched at 12:00 on September 5th — within an hour players had completely sold out the first batch of online inventory, turning products into "pre-order" items.

Challenges for SMILEY tea

Arriving with built-in traffic is one thing; competing against established tea brands that have cultivated this field for years is another — a genuine challenge for a newcomer. The SMILEY IP generates buzz, but it also carries risk. Focus on the product, innovate from a solid product foundation, and keep both innovation and profitability sustainable: that is the key to lasting success.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Since SMILEY tea's menu leans on lattes and milk-based drinks, here are FrontStreet Coffee's bean choices for milk coffee — because not every bean pairs well with milk:

• FrontStreet Classic Blend — designed for espresso machines and moka pots, with standout golden crema thanks to a touch of Robusta; its traditional Manda blend base yields a rich, mellow caramel aroma that carries beautifully through milk. The first choice for lattes, cappuccinos, and Dirty.
• FrontStreet Premium Blend — the chain's longest-serving espresso blend, built on Brazil Cerrado and Colombia Huila; when pulled into a latte it shows almond, walnut, and other layered nut flavors — silky, dense, and lingering.
• FrontStreet Strawberry Sugar Blend — a fruit-forward espresso blend that recreates bright strawberry-soft-candy sweetness; perfect for shops wanting a distinctive milk coffee, and equally at home in cold brew with a splash of milk.