Latest news with #CHAGEE
Borneo Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Borneo Post
China's bubble tea boom brews rural growth, international presence
Photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows a shop of CHAGEE, a Chinese bubble tea brand, in Jakarta, Indonesia. – Xinhua photo HANGZHOU (Aug 8): Although the traditional spring harvest season is now over, in the humming workshop of a tea company in the city of Shengzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, the aroma of fresh leaves still lingers in the air, while workers operate machines in churning out batches of vibrant green tea. More than 4,000 km away, Latifahtul Khoiriyah in Jakarta, Indonesia, took a taxi during her lunch break on a sweltering summer's day, making this trip especially to try out the bubble tea of Chinese brand CHAGEE. This white collar worker in the finance sector learned about CHAGEE on social media like TikTok and Instagram. 'It tastes good,' she said, adding that compared with some other bubble brands, CHAGEE is less sweet, while its packages are of better design. 'Jasmine has a light and rich floral flavor which is extremely refreshing, while the Oolong tea has a deeper aftertaste of roasted cream,' said another customer named Raditya. 'It is evident that high-quality tea is used in CHAGEE.' Featuring diverse flavors, achieved by combining ingredients such as fresh fruits, tea leaves, milk and cheese, China's new-style tea beverage has expanded its market rapidly in recent years, capturing the hearts of customers across China and also overseas. Data released by iiMedia Research shows that in 2024, China's new-style tea beverage market value exceeded 350 billion yuan (about US$48.5 billion) – up 6.4 per cent from a year earlier, while the market value is expected to reach 374.93 billion yuan by the end of 2025. Fragrance spreading overseas A report by Nanfang Metropolis Daily suggested that Chinese new-style tea beverage brands began opening outlets overseas in the 2010s at an accelerating pace. According to the National Business Daily, by the end of last year, Chinese new-style tea beverage brands had opened more than 5,000 outlets overseas. While various Chinese bubble brands could be seen in many Western cities such as London and Sydney, Southeast Asia emerged as one of their major markets. HEYTEA, which boasts over 4,000 stores worldwide, launched its first overseas store in Singapore in 2018. Naixue opened its first overseas flagship outlet last year in Bangkok's well-known shopping center Central World, sparking a frenzy among young consumers. On April 11 this year, CHAGEE opened three outlets in Jakarta. By July 15, this number had grown to eight. In its PIK Avenue outlet, sales topped 10,000 cups in the first three days of its opening, while the number of membership registrations exceeded 5,000 within one week. Mixue is arguably the most popular Chinese bubble tea brand in Indonesia with more than 2,600 outlets. By the end of 2024, Mixue had created jobs for about 12,800 people in Indonesia. According to Han Wenchao, who is in charge of operations at the Mixue Indonesian branch, they have about 250 staff members – of whom more than 96 per cent are locals. File photo shows people lining up at a shop of Mixue, a Chinese bubble tea brand, in Sydney, Australia. – Xinhua photo Redefining tea culture Chen Fuqiao, an associate researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), noted that the popularity of new-style tea beverages reflected the aspirations of the people, especially the young, who favor healthy drinks and emotional release. The new-style tea beverage has become a window for people to learn the traditional Chinese tea culture, he said. According to a report released by the CAAS, 46.9 per cent of young Chinese gain a better understanding of traditional tea during the consumption of new-style tea beverages, and 74.3 per cent expressed willingness to try traditional tea after tasting a new-style tea beverage. The rapid rise of such brands has reshaped the tea supply chain in recent years. China produces about 3 million tonnes of tea leaves each year – involving around 80 million farmers. Soaring demand for raw tea materials has opened up new opportunities for making use of previously underutilised summer and autumn tea resources, Chen said. People try new-style tea drinks at a teahouse in Tunxi District of Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province on July 15, 2025. – Xinhua photo 'We've invested tens of millions of yuan in three digital production lines,' said Xu Jie, deputy general manager of the Zhejiang Wafa Tea Co Ltd. 'Right now, we're rushing to fulfill base tea orders for several domestic tea beverage brands.' In the first half of 2025, Wafa Tea produced 1,300 tonnes of Longjing raw tea, supporting the development of 30,000 mu of tea gardens and generating over 40 million yuan in sales. Full-year sales are expected to exceed 70 million yuan, according to Xu. 'Longjing tea is one of Zhejiang's most iconic products,' said Lu Debiao, a tea expert at the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. 'The integration of the Longjing brand with the booming new-style tea beverage sector has become a recent highlight, injecting new vitality into the traditional product.' Benefiting rural growth Located in Shengzhou, the largest Longjing tea-producing area in China, Wafa Tea's development is a microcosm of the transformation of China's tea industry. Shengzhou is promoting a 'three-season harvest' strategy across its 210,000 mu of tea gardens. In spring, farmers hand-pick high-end teas, while in summer and autumn, fresh leaves are harvested for targeted supply to new-style beverage makers and export processors. This shift has helped raise annual income by over 3,000 yuan per mu, the local agriculture and rural affairs bureau revealed. In addition to tea leaves, Chinese farmers are also reaping benefits stemming from other agricultural products. Goodme, for example, has set up an avocado base in Menglian County of southwest China's Yunnan Province, where the annual income of local farmers has quadrupled from 12,000 yuan to 48,000. HEYTEA, meanwhile, has purchased matcha from Guizhou Province, also in southwest China, resulting in the scale of the matcha industry in the city of Tongren increasing by 15 fold in the space of three years. Staff members make new-style tea drinks at a teahouse in Tunxi District of Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province on July 15, 2025. – Xinhua photo A newcomer to the bubble tea market, NO YEYE NO TEA, with more than 2,200 outlets across China, sources osmanthus flowers from Hubei Province in central China and gardenia flowers from Sichuan Province in the country's southwest. 'Last year we sold 7.4 million cups of osmanthus tea, using as much as 97 tonnes of flowers from the city of Xianning,' said Liu Dong, who is in charge of the company's public affairs department. In Sichuan, it has collaborated with the Longgushan tea company, which owns 1,000 mu of fields for the growing of gardenia. 'Our collaboration encouraged local flower-processing enterprises to upgrade their production line, and gave rise to the growth of gardenia output – from 20 tonnes to 300 tonnes a year,' said Li Jialu, general manager of the company. Zhu Hong, a villager from Qianwei County of the city of Leshan, started growing gardenia and jasmine four years ago. 'Qianwei is famed for its flower industry, but my predecessors had never thought to become wealthy by growing flowers,' he said, while adding that his parents had once even tried to persuade him to throw away flower seedlings and change his profession. However, the rise in popularity of new-style beverages boosted the price of gardenia in the county last year, when the market price reached more than 40 yuan per kg on average – amounting to about ten times the price in the past. People visit a tea garden in Anji County of Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province on April 5, 2025. – Xinhua photo Thanks to this change, Zhu's income from flower growing skyrocketed 20 fold last year compared with 2023. This enabled him to buy a new car, while he was also able to contract another 1,000 mu of land – 800 mu for growing gardenia and 200 mu for jasmine. 'Some of my friends even asked me for flower-growing tips,' he told Xinhua. 'We have confidence in the prospect of new-style tea drinks.' – Xinhua
Hype Malaysia
22-07-2025
- Business
- Hype Malaysia
Malaysian Purchases RM11K Worth Of CHAGEE Drinks In 30 Days To Win RM15K Travel Card
Human history has shown us the true grit of an individual's dedication and effort in acquiring prized items, whether it involves competing for a cash prize or spending a ludicrous amount of money to stay at the top of a leaderboard. When there's a will, there's definitely a way. It was recently reported that a Malaysian purchased 978 cups of CHAGEE in 30 days to win a grand prize of a RM15.9K travel gift card. Reported by Facebook user @/Ryusen 生活小分享, the person would have had to spend at least RM11.6K in CHAGEE drinks alone to achieve such a feat. Following CHAGEE's 'Collect Cups, Connect Everyday' contest, which ran from 19th June to 18th July, the individual only known as Leo on the leaderboard managed to average 32.6 cups per day for the grand prize. Facebook user Ryusen details his calculation methods of using CHAGEE's cheapest beverage option, valuing RM11.90, to Leo's astounding CHAGEE purchase. The calculation estimated that Leo would have had to spend at least RM11,648.20 to stay on top of the leaderboard. The competition was straightforward, as the rankings are based on the number of qualifying cups purchased via the CHAGEE app during the campaign period. The rankings were nothing short of impressive, with 2nd place by an individual known as CHA holding 735 cups and 3rd at 557 cups by Faz. Even placing 100th place on the leaderboard required a minimum of 37 cups. The contest has since ended, but CHAGEE has yet to reveal this mystery buyer on their socials. Regardless, they deserve kudos for their dedication. Sources: Facebook, The Rakyat Post Alyssa Gabrielle contributed to this article
Rakyat Post
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Rakyat Post
Malaysian Downs 978 Cups Of CHAGEE In 30 Days To Win Travel Voucher
Subscribe to our FREE In what might be the most caffeinated quest for free vacation ever documented, a Malaysian man has shocked the internet. He consumed 978 cups of bubble tea in just 30 days – all to win a travel voucher worth RM15,999. The epic tea marathon unfolded during CHAGEE's cup challenge promotion, which ran from 18 June to 18 July. The rules were simple: whoever bought the most cups would win the grand prize. What nobody expected was for someone to take it this seriously. The Numbers Don't Lie (But They're Hard to Believe) Let's break down the math that's got everyone talking. This bubble tea champion – identified only as 'Leo' on the leaderboard – managed to average 32.6 cups per day. That's one cup every 45 minutes, around the clock, for an entire month. Using CHAGEE's cheapest menu item at RM11.90 per cup, Leo dropped at least RM11,648.20 to win a prize worth RM15,999 potentially. Even accounting for bulk discounts or promotions, we're talking about a serious financial commitment to liquid sugar and tapioca pearls. The Internet Has Questions Social media exploded with reactions ranging from impressed to concerned. 'Are his feet still okay?' asked one worried commenter, while another joked, 'I'm afraid I'll win but won't have feet left to travel abroad.' Others speculated about the logistics: Was this a corporate bulk purchase? A group effort among friends? A party planning gone wild? The mystery deepened when people realised the sheer physical impossibility of one person actually drinking that much tea. The leaderboard shows Leo claiming the top spot with 978 cups, followed by 'CHA' with 735 cups and 'Faz' with 557 cups. The competition was clearly fierce, but Leo's commitment was in a league of its own. By the Book, But Beyond Belief According to CHAGEE's terms and conditions, the competition was straightforward: rankings were 'based on the total number of qualifying cups purchased via the Only paid orders through the official app counted – no freebies, no discounts with zero payment, and cancelled orders were voided. Even 100th place required a minimum of 37 cups to qualify for seven free regular milk teas, showing that this wasn't just about one obsessed individual, but a genuinely competitive field. What makes this story remarkable isn't that someone bent the rules – it's that they didn't need to. CHAGEE's official promotion created the perfect storm: a valuable grand prize, transparent leaderboard tracking, and no purchase limits. Leo simply took the challenge more seriously than anyone anticipated. The promotion has since ended, and Leo presumably has his travel voucher. His current tea consumption levels remain unknown. READ MORE : Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
The Star
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
From toys to milk tea, Chinese brands widen market share in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese brands continue to widen their share of the consumer market in Malaysia, with strong and growing demand for a range of products from milk tea to designer toys. Just a brief walk around the capital Kuala Lumpur, one can easily spot outlets of China's beverage giant Mixue, milk tea chain CHAGEE, and Luckin Coffee -- a leading Chinese coffee brand. Cherishing food and beverages, Malaysians have flocked to these chains and flooded local social media channels with glowing reviews. Meanwhile, other items, such as Pop Mart -- a popular Chinese toy company known for its blind box collectibles, particularly the Labubu character -- are also rapidly gaining ground. Besides the ubiquitous presence of Chinese-developed smartphones and other consumer electronics, these collectibles have become a global sensation, highlighting the strong competitiveness of Chinese-developed intellectual property (IP) in the open market, while also showcasing culture and creativity. A GROWING CULTURAL PHENOMENON At Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, a major shopping center in the bustling tourist district in Bukit Bintang, signs indicate that the latest Labubu figurines are completely sold out, highlighting the surging popularity of Chinese cultural products in Malaysia and the enthusiasm they're generating among local youth. Among those visiting was Chong Man Hen, who had come especially to Kuala Lumpur to visit the store as he is an enthusiastic collector of figurines that combine traditional designs with a modern look. "I tend to collect products with traditional Chinese-style designs," he told Xinhua. "What makes these Chinese designer toys special is that they help bridge the gap between us and traditional Chinese aesthetics -- it gives a quick idea of what the character is about. Plus, being mini figures, they're especially appealing to me." "People around the world can be exposed to Chinese history and culture through (these products), and it's an easy way to understand more. When brands come in, like the traditional-style CHAGEE, I'm happy to try their products and it's nice that we don't have to go all the way to China to experience them. We can enjoy the same things here in Malaysia," he said. Inside a nearby CHAGEE outlet, a group of young girls were placing drink orders on their phones, while unboxing blind boxes from Pop Mart. Their anticipation of finding a rare edition spoke volumes about the emotional connection these collectibles have sparked. Scenes like this -- pairing Chinese-style beverages with trendy cultural goods -- have become increasingly common across Kuala Lumpur. UNIQUE PRODUCTS WITH A WIDE APPEAL These cultural products are also contributing to the local economy, drawing interest not just from Malaysians but also international visitors. Esther Yong, a university student and avid collector, noted that people from countries without access to Pop Mart are now traveling to Malaysia just to get their hands on the figurines. "I think (Chinese products) help Malaysia's economy," she said. "I've seen quite a few foreigners come to Malaysia to buy Pop Mart (products) -- some even take entire boxes home. I think it's beneficial for the economy." Esther also suggested that the retailer expand its product line to appeal to the interests of collectors like herself. "Chinese cultural elements are definitely a plus point for me ... Personally, I really like ancient Chinese elements, like the traditional costumes in Empresses in the Palace. If a series with that kind of style were released, I'd love it," she said. Meanwhile, Sharon Mendoza, a tourist from Mexico, said that she had first encountered the figurines in Pop Mart while visiting China and has kept an eye out for them on her subsequent travels. "There is no such brand in Mexico ... If there was a Pop Mart store, I would visit there like every weekend," she said with a laugh. "Everywhere I know there is a Pop Mart store, I would like to go, because I like to gift these toys to my family and my friends." The rise of Chinese brands in Malaysia is more than a commercial trend, but part of a broader cultural shift. Whether through designer toys, food and beverage chains, or cinematic experiences like animated films, China's creative industries are finding resonance among global audiences. "We're seeing the growing power of Chinese IPs," said a local cultural analyst. "More importantly, we're seeing how Chinese culture is being reimagined, localized, and embraced by new audiences around the world." - China Daily/ANN
Malaysia Sun
01-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysia Sun
From toys to milk tea, Chinese brands widen market share in Malaysia
Chinese brands like Mixue, CHAGEE, Luckin Coffee, and Pop Mart -- known for its blind box collectibles -- are captivating global markets, showcasing the power of China's homegrown IP through cultural innovation and technological agility. by Jonathan Edward, Wang Jiawei, Cheng Yiheng KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese brands continue to widen their share of the consumer market in Malaysia, with strong and growing demand for a range of products from milk tea to designer toys. Just a brief walk around the capital Kuala Lumpur, one can easily spot outlets of China's beverage giant Mixue, milk tea chain CHAGEE, and Luckin Coffee -- a leading Chinese coffee brand. Cherishing food and beverages, Malaysians have flocked to these chains and flooded local social media channels with glowing reviews. Meanwhile, other items, such as Pop Mart -- a popular Chinese toy company known for its blind box collectibles, particularly the Labubu character -- are also rapidly gaining ground. Besides the ubiquitous presence of Chinese-developed smartphones and other consumer electronics, these collectibles have become a global sensation, highlighting the strong competitiveness of Chinese-developed intellectual property (IP) in the open market, while also showcasing culture and creativity. A GROWING CULTURAL PHENOMENON At Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, a major shopping center in the bustling tourist district in Bukit Bintang, signs indicate that the latest Labubu figurines are completely sold out, highlighting the surging popularity of Chinese cultural products in Malaysia and the enthusiasm they're generating among local youth. Among those visiting was Chong Man Hen, who had come especially to Kuala Lumpur to visit the store as he is an enthusiastic collector of figurines that combine traditional designs with a modern look. "I tend to collect products with traditional Chinese-style designs," he told Xinhua. "What makes these Chinese designer toys special is that they help bridge the gap between us and traditional Chinese aesthetics -- it gives a quick idea of what the character is about. Plus, being mini figures, they're especially appealing to me." "People around the world can be exposed to Chinese history and culture through (these products), and it's an easy way to understand more. When brands come in, like the traditional-style CHAGEE, I'm happy to try their products and it's nice that we don't have to go all the way to China to experience them. We can enjoy the same things here in Malaysia," he said. Inside a nearby CHAGEE outlet, a group of young girls were placing drink orders on their phones, while unboxing blind boxes from Pop Mart. Their anticipation of finding a rare edition spoke volumes about the emotional connection these collectibles have sparked. Scenes like this -- pairing Chinese-style beverages with trendy cultural goods -- have become increasingly common across Kuala Lumpur. UNIQUE PRODUCTS WITH A WIDE APPEAL These cultural products are also contributing to the local economy, drawing interest not just from Malaysians but also international visitors. Esther Yong, a university student and avid collector, noted that people from countries without access to Pop Mart are now traveling to Malaysia just to get their hands on the figurines. "I think (Chinese products) help Malaysia's economy," she said. "I've seen quite a few foreigners come to Malaysia to buy Pop Mart (products) -- some even take entire boxes home. I think it's beneficial for the economy." Esther also suggested that the retailer expand its product line to appeal to the interests of collectors like herself. "Chinese cultural elements are definitely a plus point for me ... Personally, I really like ancient Chinese elements, like the traditional costumes in Empresses in the Palace. If a series with that kind of style were released, I'd love it," she said. Meanwhile, Sharon Mendoza, a tourist from Mexico, said that she had first encountered the figurines in Pop Mart while visiting China and has kept an eye out for them on her subsequent travels. "There is no such brand in Mexico ... If there was a Pop Mart store, I would visit there like every weekend," she said with a laugh. "Everywhere I know there is a Pop Mart store, I would like to go, because I like to gift these toys to my family and my friends." The rise of Chinese brands in Malaysia is more than a commercial trend, but part of a broader cultural shift. Whether through designer toys, food and beverage chains, or cinematic experiences like animated films, China's creative industries are finding resonance among global audiences. "We're seeing the growing power of Chinese IPs," said a local cultural analyst. "More importantly, we're seeing how Chinese culture is being reimagined, localized, and embraced by new audiences around the world."
