Positive Reviews: Migration of the “Tea – Drink Genes” in the Light – Drunk Market, Precisely Capturing the New Emotional Consumption Trend of Generation Z
Behind the phenomenon of “the first drink of alcohol for post – 2005 generation may come from milk tea shops”, the layout of the light – drunk market by Snow Ice City and Cha Yan Yue Se essentially reflects their precise insight into the emotional consumption needs of Generation Z and the efficient migration of their core capabilities. It provides a highly valuable reference sample for cross – border expansion of new consumer brands.
Firstly, the cross – border logic of the two major brands is deeply in line with the underlying demand of the light – drunk market – emotional value. Currently, young people are facing multiple problems such as work pressure and social anxiety. As a “low – burden emotional solution”, light – drunk drinking not only meets the psychological need of “temporarily escaping from reality” but also avoids the utilitarianism of traditional drinking – table culture, becoming a lifestyle of “drinking for oneself”. Snow Ice City acquired Fulujia’s draft fresh beer, positioning it at an affordable price of 6 – 10 yuan per 500 mL, directly targeting the high – frequency scenarios of “after – work drinks” and “gatherings with friends” among young people. Cha Yan Yue Se created an artistic scene of “poetic drinking” through its sub – brand “Zhouye Shijiu Cha”, linking light – drunk drinking with Chinese aesthetics, precisely matching young people’s pursuit of “relaxedness” and “high – appearance value”. Both have stepped out of the “functional attributes” of traditional alcoholic beverages and instead centered on emotional experience, highly in sync with the market trend.
Secondly, the cross – border strategies of the two major brands have fully utilized their “genetic advantages”, reducing the trial – and – error costs in the new market. Snow Ice City’s core advantage lies in “ultra – efficient supply chain + large – scale replication”. The experience in raw material procurement, logistics and distribution, and franchisee management accumulated through its 58,000 stores can be directly transferred to Fulujia’s draft fresh beer business. For example, Fulujia’s draft equipment and beer raw materials can share Snow Ice’s supply chain system, significantly reducing the operating cost of each store. Moreover, Snow Ice’s franchisee network can quickly expand Fulujia’s stores, enabling the rapid spread of the “beer version of Snow Ice”. Cha Yan Yue Se’s advantage lies in “cultural symbols + high – loyalty members”. The brand image (Chinese style, artistic, high – experience) established through its direct – operation model and the 78.9% membership consumption ratio provide a natural user base for its sub – brand “Zhouye Shijiu Cha”. The design of shared membership balance/points can quickly introduce the original customer group into the light – drunk scenario, reducing the customer – acquisition cost of the new brand. Data shows that after the launch of Cha Yan’s sub – brand tea – wine products, the first – month repurchase rate was 30% higher than that of traditional bars, which is a direct manifestation of the value of the membership system’s “traffic pool”.
Finally, the layout of the light – drunk business has opened up new growth curves for the two major brands. For Snow Ice City, the milk tea market is approaching saturation (it has over 48,000 stores in the Chinese mainland, while experts estimate the upper limit to be 45,000), and the sales volume per store has been declining for three consecutive years. It urgently needs a second growth curve. The draft fresh beer market has an annual growth rate of over 20%, and there is no absolute leader yet. The acquisition of Fulujia precisely fills this gap. For Cha Yan Yue Se, although its membership repurchase rate in the Hunan market is as high as 78.9%, the large – scale expansion “beyond Hunan” has always been limited by the high cost of the direct – operation model (the investment per store is three times that of franchise brands). The light – drunk business has increased the average daily revenue per store by 40% through all – day coverage (from afternoon tea to night – time drinking), effectively alleviating the pressure of scale growth.
Negative Reviews: “Genetic Traps” and Market Barriers in Cross – Border Light – Drunk Business, Balancing Scale and Brand Image Remains a Major Challenge
Although the light – drunk layout of the two major brands seems to be “going with the trend”, the hidden challenges cannot be ignored. From the suitability of market characteristics and brand genes, the authenticity of user needs to the complexity of the competitive landscape, the “sweet traps” in cross – border light – drunk business may be more difficult than expected.
Firstly, Snow Ice City’s “beer – version replication” faces the problem of “mismatched market genes”. The consumption scenarios, frequencies, and competitive landscapes of tea drinks and beer are significantly different. Tea drinks are “high – frequency daily consumption” (one cup per day on average), while beer is “low – frequency scenario – based consumption” (1 – 2 times per week on average). The tea – drink market is fragmented (the CR5 is less than 30%), while the beer market is highly concentrated (the CR5 exceeds 70%), and the advantages of giants like Budweiser and Tsingtao in channels and supply chains are unshakable. Although Fulujia’s draft fresh beer positions itself as “affordable and freshly made”, the price competition from traditional canned beer (such as Snowflake Super Dry at 3 yuan per 500 mL) and chain pubs (such as Helens at 9.9 yuan per cup) may put its “high – quality and affordable” positioning in an awkward situation of being “neither here nor there”. In addition, draft fresh beer has higher requirements for cold – chain transportation and equipment maintenance than tea drinks. Whether Snow Ice’s supply chain can support the freshness of “draft” (beer needs to be consumed within 24 hours) remains unknown. If there are negative reviews about “stale” beer due to quality control issues, it may damage the main brand’s reputation of “high – quality and affordable”.
Secondly, Cha Yan Yue Se’s “cultural output” faces dual challenges of “regional limitations” and “scenario fragmentation”. Cha Yan’s cultural symbols (Chinese style, poetry, and Hunan regional characteristics) highly rely on the emotional recognition of local users. The 35% revenue share of its peripheral products is essentially an extension of “regional cultural consumption”. However, the core users of the light – drunk scenario are the “general Generation Z”, not just the “regional fans” in Hunan. When Cha Yan tries to expand “Zhouye Shijiu Cha” nationwide, its cultural narrative of “poetic drinking” may “not adapt to the local environment” due to the lack of regional resonance. For example, young people in Beijing and Shanghai may have a lower acceptance of “Hunan – style poetry” than local users in Hunan, resulting in a significant increase in the customer – acquisition cost of the new brand. In addition, although Cha Yan’s direct – operation model can ensure the experience, the investment cost per store (about 800,000 yuan) is 2.7 times that of Helens (about 300,000 yuan). In the night – time drinking scenario, high rent and high labor costs may compress the profit margin. If the revenue per store of the sub – brand cannot cover the cost, its story of “all – day growth” will be difficult to sustain.
Finally, both brands need to be vigilant against the risk of “misjudging user needs”. The core of light – drunk consumption is “emotional experience”, but whether users have a real need for “alcohol from milk tea shops” still needs to be verified. Snow Ice City’s draft fresh beer focuses on “affordability”, but young people may care more about the “relaxed atmosphere of the scene” rather than just the low price when choosing to drink in milk tea shops (Helens’ 9.9 – yuan beer has already met the demand for affordability). Cha Yan’s “tea – cocktails” emphasize “cultural sense”, but whether users are willing to pay a premium for “poetry” (the unit price of its tea – wine products is 18 – 25 yuan, higher than Helens’ average price of 15 – 20 yuan) still needs market testing. If users finally find that the experience of “alcohol from milk tea shops” is not as good as that in professional pubs or convenience – store mixed drinks, the cross – border layout may become an attempt based on “false needs”.
Suggestions for Entrepreneurs: Cross – Border Light – Drunk Business Requires “Scene Anchoring + Capability Adaptation”, Beware of “Genetic Replication” Traps
The light – drunk layout of Snow Ice City and Cha Yan Yue Se provides a reference for entrepreneurs to “go with the trend”, but it also reveals the key risk points in cross – border markets. Based on their experiences and challenges, the following suggestions are worth noting:
- Precisely anchor light – drunk scenarios to avoid the “false – need trap”: The core of light – drunk consumption is emotional experience. Entrepreneurs need to clarify the “specific scenarios” of target users (such as solo drinking at home, gatherings with friends, short breaks during commuting, etc.) and design products and services around these scenarios. For example, Snow Ice City can strengthen the “convenient community drinking” scenario (install draft fresh beer self – pick – up cabinets in community stores), and Cha Yan Yue Se can focus on the “artistic social” scenario (set up small tables in stores to create a “light – pub” atmosphere) to avoid the mismatch between user needs and unclear scenarios.
- Evaluate the suitability of core capabilities and the new market to avoid blind expansion through “genetic replication”: Snow Ice City’s supply – chain advantage is a “sharp weapon” in the tea – drink market, but in the beer market, new requirements such as cold – chain and equipment maintenance need to be considered. Cha Yan Yue Se’s cultural image is a “barrier” in the local market, but when expanding nationwide, the cultural narrative needs to be adjusted (such as weakening regional characteristics and strengthening the universal “Chinese aesthetics”). Entrepreneurs need to sort out the “intersection points” between their core capabilities (supply chain, brand, users) and the new market before cross – border expansion, rather than simply replicating the original model.
- Balance scale and quality, beware of short – term actions of “growing for the sake of growth”: Snow Ice City needs to avoid neglecting the profitability of individual stores in pursuit of the number of stores (the average daily sales of each Fulujia store need to reach at least 60% of that of Snow Ice’s tea – drink stores to cover the cost). Cha Yan Yue Se needs to explore a “light – asset” expansion model (such as joint – venture stores with shopping malls) while maintaining the quality of direct – operation. Entrepreneurs need to clarify the core goal of cross – border expansion (whether it is a second growth curve or brand value – added) to avoid resource dispersion caused by blind expansion.
- Pay attention to user feedback and quickly iterate products and experiences: The emotional nature of light – drunk consumption determines the “volatility” of user needs. Entrepreneurs need to collect user feedback through membership systems, community operations, etc., and quickly adjust products (for example, Cha Yan can adjust the sweetness of tea – wine according to user preferences, and Snow Ice can test the regional acceptance of different beer flavors). At the same time, a “fault – tolerance mechanism” needs to be established to allow a certain margin for trial – and – error in the early stage of the new business, avoiding giving up long – term value due to poor short – term data.
Conclusion: The explosion of the light – drunk market is essentially a concrete expression of young people’s “emotional consumption”. The cross – border attempts of Snow Ice City and Cha Yan Yue Se are not only a response to this trend but also an exploration of their own capability boundaries. For entrepreneurs, the key is not “whether to cross – border” but “how to use their own advantages as an anchor to precisely meet users’ emotional needs”. Only in this way can light – drunk consumption transform from a “traffic trend” into a “long – term business”.
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