When we talk about tea, what comes to mind? Perhaps millennia-old heritage and famous mountain teas—West Lake Longjing, Anxi Tieguanyin, Yunnan Pu'er, Xinyang Maojian... But when asked, 'Who is the brand that can represent Chinese tea?' most people find it hard to name one. This is the long-standing awkward reality of China's tea industry: it has culture and categories, but lacks true 'brands.' Against this backdrop, Xiao Guan Tea, from its inception in 2016, took 'modernization of whole-leaf tea' as its breakthrough, overturning the traditional loose-leaf form with standardized small-can packaging, helping more consumers develop awareness of 'tea brands.' In May this year, Xiao Guan Tea again pushed industry boundaries by launching 'High-Aroma Sugar-Free Tea' beverages, drawing widespread attention from the industry and consumers. Why did Xiao Guan Tea choose to extend from whole-leaf tea to bottled ready-to-drink tea? As a traditional tea company entering the FMCG industry, what are its next steps? To this end, New Distribution exclusively interviewed Mei Jiang, Vice President of Xiao Guan Tea and General Manager of the Marketing Center, to explore the logic and thinking behind the brand.
'Non-standard' is both an advantage and a constraint: The anti-brand logic of Chinese tea**** Why does Chinese tea have 'categories but no brands'? Mei Jiang told New Distribution that the underlying logic of Chinese tea is actually 'anti-brand.' Why? Because Chinese tea grew under the logic of traditional agricultural civilization. The tea category has been 'competing' for hundreds or even thousands of years, reaching an extremely high level of complexity and cultural depth. Chinese tea is not backward; it is developed to the point of being 'non-standard.' Thus, we see Chinese people drinking tea often progress from enjoying taste and brand to pursuing mountain peaks, masters, vintage years, and even famous mountain ancient trees. Behind this lies a 'non-standard thinking' rooted in Chinese culture—a deep pursuit of uniqueness and complexity. The 'brand' model, on the other hand, is based on standardization, industrialization, and scale, then adding unique value and culture on that foundation. It is a model prioritizing 'efficiency,' seeking replicability and systematic output. However, the tea industry's long-standing 'non-standard' tradition is deeply entrenched, making Xiao Guan Tea's path difficult. On one hand, tea gardens are scattered, varieties are numerous, and climate and picking times vary greatly, making raw material selection difficult; on the other hand, consumer perception habitually believes that standardized tea is not authentic enough, which is hard to change. Despite this, Xiao Guan Tea has not given up. The company was established in 2012, and after four years of refinement, officially launched Xiao Guan Tea in 2016. However, due to the profound history, culture, and regional differences of 'Chinese tea,' Xiao Guan Tea deeply realized that it is difficult for Chinese tea to produce big brands like Coca-Cola or Nestlé. On one hand, there is a lack of unified product forms; on the other, it is hard to create efficiently replicable consumption scenarios. Therefore, this year Xiao Guan Tea launched 'High-Aroma Sugar-Free Tea,' hoping to bring the traditional tea industry into a more modern and larger-scale stage through continuous standardization and branding efforts. In Xiao Guan Tea's view, the launch of sugar-free tea beverages is not accidental but an inevitable choice in this transformation. Of course, the value of whole-leaf tea remains irreplaceable. Truly good tea emphasizes natural aroma, sweet aftertaste, and balance, without additives or embellishment. When ritual, gatherings with friends, or important discussions are involved, whole-leaf tea remains important in ways bottled tea cannot carry. As Xiao Guan Tea founder Du Guoying said at the High-Aroma Sugar-Free Tea launch: 'Between whole-leaf tea and bottled tea, it is not a zero-sum game, but a supplement of scenarios and creation of incremental market.' That is, whole-leaf tea and ready-to-drink tea do not conflict; rather, by expanding different consumption scenarios, they create incremental market for the tea industry.
Entering sugar-free tea: Not beverage logic, but 'tea logic'**** Currently, the beverage market is full of new products and innovations, especially sugar-free tea drinks, which have become a major trend with many brands entering. Xiao Guan Tea's entry into the sugar-free tea track has inevitably attracted criticism: 'Is it just jumping on the bandwagon?' 'Is it following trends or imitating?' 'Has the high-end tea company fallen from its pedestal?' But upon deeper understanding, we find that Xiao Guan Tea's strategy is not a trend-following imitation but a breakout that starts from the essence of 'tea' and moves in the opposite direction. In the interview, Mei Jiang mentioned that Xiao Guan Tea makes sugar-free tea not with a 'beverage mindset' but by using 'tea logic' to develop new forms. The underlying logic of beverages is based on the upgrade and modification of 'water': water has no taste, so add sugar; sugar is considered unhealthy, so make it sugar-free; sugar-free is not enough, so add fizz, function, and stimulation. This path pursues speed, market reaction, and consumer impulse. But tea is not like that. Tea itself has a unique flavor, such as the freshness of green tea, the richness of oolong, and the sweetness of black tea. Xiao Guan Tea's original intention in making sugar-free tea is to return to this 'true taste of tea.' Although there are already many sugar-free tea brands on the market, Xiao Guan Tea's approach and understanding are completely different. For Xiao Guan Tea, making sugar-free tea is not about making a beverage but treating it as a modern expression of traditional tea culture. Xiao Guan Tea is rethinking: Can good tea return to our lives in a new way? Let more people, especially young people, easily enjoy truly good tea in their daily lives. The fast pace of life means most young people do not have time to set up tea sets and brew gongfu tea; ready-to-drink tea meets their need for convenience. But convenience does not mean compromise. With 13 years of accumulated tea-making experience, Xiao Guan Tea strictly controls everything from raw material selection to processing: using high-standard raw materials, integrating 'gongfu tea extraction technology' to fully release the aroma and flavor of tea leaves, then layering natural floral notes, making the tea broth both thick and layered, not astringent or weak, closer to the taste of freshly brewed tea. This is the true significance of Xiao Guan Tea's sugar-free tea—not just making a bottle of drink, but allowing Chinese tea to easily integrate into more people's lives through this convenient method.
From validation to replication: Xiao Guan Tea chooses to 'take steady steps'**** In the current FMCG market, many brands rush to distribute and seize channels after launching new products, hoping to become an instant hit with market heat. But this approach has led to the situation where 'nine out of ten new products die.' Most products do not last long and are quickly eliminated. Although Xiao Guan Tea has been deeply involved in whole-leaf tea for over a decade with a solid brand foundation, it still considers itself a novice in ready-to-drink tea. So when entering this new field, Xiao Guan Tea did not blindly expand but chose a more prudent approach: not chasing heat or speed, first validating whether the product and model work, then gradually advancing.
First, product validation: Can the tea's taste and packaging make consumers truly like it and be willing to repurchase?
Second, channel validation: After products are distributed to supermarkets, convenience stores, and other channels, what are the market feedback and sell-through? How to ensure each channel brings actual sales results?
Third, brand momentum validation: Can the brand's content expression and cultural value move consumers, inspire resonance, and form deep brand identification?
Only after these aspects are validated will Xiao Guan Tea consider the next stage of replication and expansion. It does not pursue short-term sales growth but hopes to steadily take each step on a solid foundation. For this reason, after the May launch, although many distributors proactively sought cooperation with Xiao Guan Tea, the offline sales of High-Aroma Sugar-Free Tea are currently limited to Beijing and Guangdong Province, without rushing into large-scale cooperation. Mei Jiang explained: 'As a new entrant, there is much we need to learn in this industry. Only after adequate preparation, figuring out the product operation logic, and having the ability to empower distributors, can we cooperate without disappointing our distributor friends.' In selecting partners, Xiao Guan Tea also adheres to principles. Besides requiring channel partners to have certain channel operation capabilities, it also hopes they recognize the brand philosophy, understand tea culture, and have their own understanding of the modern expression of tea. Because in Xiao Guan Tea's view, this is not just a simple business but a cultural mission. Mei Jiang said: 'In the future, we hope to gather a group of people who identify with and love tea culture, work together to do this well, and promote Chinese tea culture to go further and ultimately onto the world stage!'
Final thoughts Chinese tea lacks neither culture nor craftsmanship, but to create its own brand, it needs to create brand forms that consumers can access anytime. Xiao Guan Tea chose to start from 'tea logic' and earnestly make a good bottle of tea, responding to consumers' new expectations for 'good tea' in a warmer and more convenient way. In New Distribution's view, the exploration of sugar-free tea may just be the first step for Xiao Guan Tea to stride forward. Whether it is standardized production models or branding attempts, Xiao Guan Tea is striving to break through the 'non-standard' limitations of traditional Chinese tea culture, trying to push Chinese tea into a more modern and globalized market. In the future, whether Xiao Guan Tea can achieve a win-win of cultural heritage and brand innovation is worth our expectation. While others are competing on price and seizing channels, Xiao Guan Tea is already defining categories and reshaping mindsets. From tradition to modernity, from product to culture, Xiao Guan Tea is opening a new path for the 'ready-to-drink' transformation of Chinese tea.
From August 19 to 21, at the 7th China FMCG Conference in Shanghai, Xiao Guan Tea founder and chairman Du Guoying will share the thinking logic behind Xiao Guan Tea at the main forum, presenting 'Grasp the Unchanging, Embrace the Changing: The 'New World' Mission of Chinese Tea.' Interested friends should not miss it!
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