Making everyone remember you the CHAGEE Way

How CHAGEE Conquered the Tea World: One Cup at a Time

While everyone else was bleeding in the milk tea red ocean, CHAGEE chose a road no one had taken: it turned milk tea into a "tea latte."

In 2017, founder Zhang Junjie opened his first store in Kunming. He saw a hard truth clearly: in the fruit tea arena, he couldn't outspend Heytea or Nayuki—"and we couldn't afford the fight." So he deliberately avoided the war and aimed at a nearly empty space: "whole-leaf fresh milk tea, "whole-leaf tea plus fresh milk, a cleaner, healthier "tea latte."

That choice put CHAGEE right on the pulse of the times. Surveys showed nearly half of consumers worried milk tea was unhealthy and fattening. CHAGEE was among the first to deliver "zero creamer, zero non-dairy creamer, zero hydrogenated vegetable oil," and launched a calorie calculator, turning health into a visible selling point.

A radically simple recipe brought radically high efficiency. Its signature "Boya Juexian" has sold over 1.25 billion cups. Automated brewing machines compress production to 8 seconds per cup, with taste variance held to 0.2%. By the end of 2025, CHAGEE had reached 7,453 stores worldwide, with annual GMV of 31.58 billion RMB.

But the bigger ambition lay overseas. While rivals fought each other at home, CHAGEE planted its flag across Southeast Asia and North America. In Q4 2025, overseas GMV surged 84.6% year-on-year, marking three consecutive quarters of growth above 75%. It wants to be the "Starbucks of the East", using one cup of tea to connect with the world.

Yet the road to dominance was never smooth. In 2025, delivery platforms ignited a subsidy war. CHAGEE chose not to fight, and foot traffic was intercepted. Management admitted it had "underestimated the shock." But it held its ground, protecting brand integrity and long-term value. The result: 73.9% of orders come from repeat customers. True fans don't need discounts to be convinced.

One cup of tea. A new set of rules.

CHAGEE proved something the entire industry needed to hear: real dominance isn't about beating everyone. It's about making everyone remember you.

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