Hey Tea facts for kids
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HeyTea location in Guangzhou
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| Private | |||||||||||
| Industry | Tea shops | ||||||||||
| Founded | 2012 in Jiangmen | ||||||||||
| Headquarters |
Nanshan District, Shenzhen
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| Parent | Shenzhen Meixixi Catering Management | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 深圳美西西餐饮管理有限公司 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 深圳美西西餐飲管理有限公司 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Shenzhen Meixixi (Beautiful West West) Food and Beverage Management Co., Ltd. | ||||||||||
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Hey Tea (Chinese: 喜茶; Mandarin Pinyin: Xǐ Chá; Jyutping: hei2 caa4; literally "Happy Tea") is a Chinese tea drink chain founded in 2012 and headquartered in Nanshan District, Shenzhen. Started off as a small tea store called "royal tea” (皇茶) in Jiangmen city, Guangdong Province, the brand quickly expanded into other cities in Guangdong and China. Due to a trademark issue, the original name "Royal Tea" was dropped and "Hey Tea" (喜茶) was adopted. As of January 2021[update], Hey Tea operates more than 650 stores, mainly in China.
Hey Tea is commonly regarded as a "Wanghong" brand in China because its popularity on social media. The brand is famous for its modern interior design, photogenic packaging and innovative drinks. As of 2018[update], millennials are its main customer demographic. As of that year, most locations are in shopping malls catering to wealthy customers. Its signature items are various cheese tea and fruit tea. The cheese mixture used in their signature cheese tea is described as "a blend of New Zealand's Anchor cheese, milk, cream and salt".
Contents
History
It opened in 2012 as Royal Tea (Chinese: 皇茶; Mandarin Pinyin: Huáng Chá; Jyutping: wong4 caa4) in Jiangmen, but changed its name as it did not establish a trademark. It adopted its current name in 2016.
In 2015, Hey Tea entered the market of Guangzhou and Shenzhen which are two first-tier cities in China.
In 2016, after obtaining the investment of 100 million yuan from IDG Capital and Angel investor, Hey Tea entered the market of Guangxi.
In 2017, Hey Tea entered Shanghai. The first store which was opened at Raffles City created buzz on social networking because of long lines. In the same year, its bakery brand "Hey Tea Mix" opened the first store in Guangzhou.
In 2018, The first Hong Kong store was opened at New Town Plaza. Subsequently, Hey Tea opened stores at Hong Kong Times Square, Hysan Place, Yuen Long Yoho Mall, and Citywalk.
In addition, Hey Tea has branches in most first and second-tier cities of China, as well as in Singapore.
In 2021, Hey Tea released a milk-tea based product based on Eisbock milk.
In December 2023; Hey Tea successfully entered the American market opening its first store in the heart of Manhattan, New York. More stores are scheduled to be opened in other major US cities in 2024.
Stores
Types of stores
Source:
- Standard Stores
- Hey Tea Lab: a Lab-style concept store. The first store was opened at Shenzhen Central town Square in October 2016.
- Hey Tea Black: a black and gold themed store. The first store was opened at Shenzhen Mixc in January 2017.
- Hey Tea Mix: a store that mainly sells freshly baked bread. The first store was opened in March 2017 in Guangzhou.
- Hey Tea Pink: a pink themed store that targets at young women. The first store was opened at Shenzhen Mixc in September 2017.
- Hey Tea DP: a store that originates from HEYTEA Daydreamer Project. The store had a cross-border cooperation with independent designers. The first store was opened at Shenzhen Uniwalk in October 2017.
- Hey Tea Go: a small size store that customers can order online through Hey Tea Go App.
Classic products
- Original Cheese Tea Series
- Fresh Fruit Tea Series
- Light Cheezo Tea Series
- Season Limited Tea Series
