What’s behind the popularity of super sweet Thai milk tea in China?

In today's milk tea industry sugar is often viewed negatively, seeing ‘low sugar’ become the default choice for young people's health needs. However, the very sweet Thai milk tea, with its unique sweetness and flavour, still attracts many consumers. As of July 24, there are over 330,000 posts related to ‘Thai milk tea’ on Xiaohongshu, and videos on the same topic have garnered over 670 million views on Douyin. Thai milk tea brands like ChunLai (春莱), Badila (芭堤啦), and Big Beard Iced Cocoa (大胡子冰可可) have been rapidly expanding in recent years.

Founded in 2020 in Kunming, the Thai milk tea brand ChunLai specializes in Thai milk tea and Laotian coffee, offering a unique Southeast Asian style. Over the past two years, it has rapidly expanded across the country, now boasting 250 stores in 106 cities across China. Image: Chunlai‘s storefront and its popular Thai milk tea from Xiaohongshu @普宁蜡蜡嗦 @小羊不吃素. Data Source: Hongcan Big Data (红餐大数据)

Founded in 2019 and also originating from Kunming, the Thai milk tea brand Badi La focuses on Thai milk tea and coffee. According to the brand's official website, it has opened over 200 stores across China. Image: Badila‘s in-store surroundings and its popular Thai milk tea from its brand website and Xiaohongshu @芭堤啦奶咖

Besides homegrown Thai milk tea brands, Thai brands have also entered the Chinese market. For example, in 2023, the trendy Thai brand Big Beard Iced Cocoa opened its first store in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. Over the past year, the brand has frequently appeared in pop-up shops across different cities and has started franchising. It now has over 100 stores, including pop-ups. Image: Cocoa’s pop-up stores and its hero products iced coco milk from Xiaohonsghu @大胡子冰可可Cocoa

Thai milk tea has become widely popular for several reasons:

• Unique Flavour: Made with Thai tea leaves and a special blend of spices, Thai milk tea has a rich and distinctive taste. It’s typically very creamy and sweet, with lots of ice to balance the sweetness, giving it a refreshing and enjoyable flavor that brings some consumers back to the initial joy of drinking milk tea.

• Affordable Price: Thai milk tea is quite affordable, usually costing between ￥12 ($1.6) to ￥20 ($2.7) per cup, making it accessible for a wider range of consumers.

• Cultural Appeal: As a Southeast Asian specialty, Thai milk tea offers an exotic experience that appeals to people’s curiosity about new and different things.

• Social Media Buzz: Thai milk tea shops are often located in trendy areas and decorated with Southeast Asian themes, making them perfect for snapping photos. This has made Thai milk tea a popular choice for social media posts, further boosting its popularity.

Notes about checking in Thai milk tea stores on Xiaohongshu. Image: Xiaohongshu @ 1uan @煎饼郭子 @二胖姐姐

• Innovative Marketing: Thai milk tea brands use unique marketing strategies such as creative packaging (like baby bottles and buckets), ‘quirky’ Thai cultural marketing, seasonal limited editions, collaborations, and nostalgic marketing. These approaches enhance the brand's appeal and attract more customers.

In addition to the usual bagged format, Thai milk tea is also available in baby bottle and bucket packaging. Image: Xiaohongshu @麋鹿 @Gean @小螃蟹in Bangkok

Big Beard Iced Cocoa features the founder's high school photo as its logo. The cocoa concentration of their drinks is categorized into four levels, each represented by different beard lengths. The ‘no beard’ version indicates light cocoa, the ‘small beard’ version stands for medium cocoa, the ‘big beard’ version signifies strong cocoa, and the sweetened version shows a sweetened version of the founder's face. Image: Cocoa's official brand website

Cocoa also introduces seasonal limited-edition products throughout the year. Image: Cocoa's official brand website

ChunLai has collaborated with Indonesian meme character TATAN for a special partnership. Image: Xiaohongshu @春莱Chunlai

Chunlai x Laos Tourism collab. Purchasing the Laotian iced coffee series gives you a chance to win a Laotian trip worth ¥2,688. Image: Xiaohongshu @春莱Chunlai

Chunlai x Thai celebrity Boss.CKM collab. Image: Xiaohongshu @春莱Chunlai

Despite its high sugar and milk content posing challenges in today’s health-conscious tea market, Thai milk tea has successfully carved out a niche. Its trendy appeal and Thai cultural marketing have captured the attention of young consumers. However, whether it will continue to attract interest in the highly competitive and ever-evolving milk tea market in the long run remains to be seen.