"How long can this product last? It won't be pulled off the shelves in a couple of months, will it?" During a recent frontline visit, distributor Lao Wang's most straightforward question about a new product captured the anxiety of the entire industry. Almost every month, brands launch new products with great fanfare, but after the noise fades, most fall victim to the fate of "three months of heat, then delisting within six months," eventually becoming "barcode assassins" sitting in warehouses. This curse of "short-lived new products" has made distributors increasingly cautious in their decisions. Everyone is thinking, "How long will this trend last? Is the manufacturer's investment serious?" However, amid this cautious观望, Xiangpiaopiao, the 20-year-old "First Stock of Chinese Milk Tea," dropped a "deep-water bomb." On October 10, the brand officially announced Olympic champion Sun Yingsha as the spokesperson for its strategic core product—the Original Leaf Fresh Brew series—instantly igniting the market. The announcement had barely landed when the "champion's same style" products sold out online within seconds. Fans flooded the flagship store and Weibo topics demanding restocks. Feedback from offline terminals was even more direct: many consumers specifically asked for "Shasha's same style." On social media, young people posted photos of the Original Leaf Fresh Brew with captions like "Champion's choice, buy without hesitation." This starkly contrasts with the general sluggishness in the industry. Why, at a time when distributors generally lack confidence in new product launches, can Xiangpiaopiao successfully ignite a phenomenal product? And what signal does this high-profile move send to channel partners on the front lines? Strategic Ignition: Locking in Brand Value Return with Champion Spirit Many brands habitually use celebrities to endorse new products, but what distributors fear most is "false fire"—brands spend money on promotion, and once the hype fades, the inventory is left in their hands. After in-depth research, New Distribution found that this partnership between Xiangpiaopiao and Sun Yingsha is not an isolated endorsement event but rather a deliberate value alignment, adding a heavy "ballast stone" to channel confidence. Sun Yingsha's labels are distinct: on the court, she is known for her fierce smashes and stable mental fortitude, earning her the reputation of "pushing to the extreme." Off the court, she captivates fans with her sunny smile and approachability, earning the nickname "Little Sun." This champion spirit of "extreme perfectionism + long-termism" resonates remarkably with the original intention behind Xiangpiaopiao's Original Leaf Fresh Brew series. To develop this product, Xiangpiaopiao spent nearly two years, undergoing over 90 formula refinements and more than 1,500 taste tests. This persistence and refinement carry a resilience akin to "champion training." It can be said that Sun Yingsha's endorsement not only endorses the product's healthy image but also represents a deep value resonance. This value alignment quickly translated into clear sales signals at the terminal. A distributor in East China focusing on campus channels mentioned, "Previously, promoting a new product required a lot of explanation. This time is different—students come into the store asking, 'Do you have the one endorsed by Sun Yingsha?' and they come in groups to buy. With a product that carries its own traffic and trust, we have the confidence to stock it." From the online "champion's same style" selling out in seconds, to offline consumers "buying by name," to the over 60% viral rate of种草 posts on Xiaohongshu, all points to one conclusion: when a product carries the halo of "champion's choice," consumers' purchasing decisions shift from "passive acceptance" to "active seeking." For the channel, this means lower selling costs and faster turnover—real business benefits. Product Strength: Visible Upgrades, Tangible Sales If the endorsement ignited the first spark, what truly gives distributors the courage to invest heavily and follow long-term is the product's own solid strength. Over the past 20 years, Xiangpiaopiao has carried the warm memories of a generation. But today, how does this "national memory" face the discerning eyes of a new generation of consumers who demand health and quality? Xiangpiaopiao's answer is to launch a health revolution in the instant beverage category with a "visible" cup of milk tea. This revolution did not shout empty slogans but focused on visible, tangible aspects: Tea base upgrade—from "tea powder" to "original leaves": The entire series abandons traditional tea powder and adopts visual independent original-leaf tea bags, allowing the tea leaves to unfold visibly, with a natural and mellow aroma. Good raw materials can withstand "open-bag inspection." Milk source upgrade—visible quality promise: Upgraded to independent fresh milk powder packets, using high-quality imported New Zealand milk sources, allowing consumers to see the white and fine powder and smell the pure milk aroma. With 0 trans fatty acids, it's safer to drink. Among these, the high-end light milk tea product line goes a step further, completely bidding farewell to the era of milk powder. In collaboration with New Hope Super Farm, it pioneered the industry's first liquid fresh milk concentrate cup, using ultra-instant lock-fresh technology to deliver a fresher and richer taste. The ingredient list is clean, containing only real milk and real tea, with 0 non-dairy creamer, 0 artificial flavors, and 0 trans fatty acids. Experience upgrade—from "fixed sugar" to "free sugar control": To address health and sugar control needs, the entire series provides independent sugar packets, allowing sweetness to be adjusted freely. The light milk tea series' sweetness packets also include L-arabinose for low-GI sugar control. Toppings innovation—recreating street drink texture: The classic no-cook pearls use traditional brown sugar craftsmanship, chewy and delicious; they also introduced novel toppings like pecan-flavored Youlan pearls, perfectly recreating the rich texture of street drinks. With this combination of moves, the core value clearly emerges: it makes "high quality" and "high cost-performance" no longer an either-or choice. Consumers can enjoy a more convenient, fresher, and more reassuring milk tea experience at less than half the price of a street drink. More importantly, this upgrade has already been voted for with real money by the market:

  • Since its launch on August 17, 2024, Original Leaf Fresh Brew has become a phenomenal hit in the 6-yuan price band.
  • In campus channels, the main battleground for customer acquisition, its daily sales are 1.7 times that of the classic red bean series.
  • The high-end product line, Mingqian Longjing Light Milk Tea, sold 300,000 cups in two weeks after launch, at one point becoming "hard to find." These data points prove that it provides the channel not just a new product barcode but a potential stock that could redefine the standards of the instant milk tea industry. Beyond Buzz, It's a "Trust Certificate" for the Channel For battle-hardened distributors, a temporary boom is nothing new. What they care about more is: "How long can this product last? Can production keep up? Will it disappear after a flash in the pan?" In response, Xiangpiaopiao gave the most resolute answer in the most "foolish" yet practical way—heavy asset investment. Over the past year, the brand has established two "super tea gardens" in Cangyuan, Yunnan, and Hangzhou. In Cangyuan, Yunnan, the high altitude and low latitude create large-leaf tea trees with higher polyphenol content; in Hangzhou, they chose the "top luxury among teas," Mingqian super-grade Longjing. This supply chain strategy, starting from the source, not only creates raw material barriers but, more importantly, turns the ethereal "health upgrade" strategy into tangible certainty rooted in the land. A seasoned distributor admitted, "The vitality of a new product depends on marketing in the short term, but in the long term, it's about quality control and supply chain. Xiangpiaopiao's willingness to invest heavily in the upstream planting end is a public statement that the 'health upgrade' is something to be done solidly and for the long haul. Only with such barcodes can we confidently maintain them and make long-term plans." This long-termism is not only reflected in the product source but also runs through the maintenance of the entire channel value chain. Xiangpiaopiao does not let distributors "fight alone" but ensures products truly "move" through a series of solid terminal empowerment initiatives. For example, in campus channels, through creative activities like "Campus Heartthrob Milk Tea Shop" and pop-up stores, the average single-store daily sales (PSD) doubled; in a key gift market sample, through a precise product-sales integration model, the first-year gift box launch achieved a store sell-through rate of over 90%... From quality assurance at the source tea gardens to sales empowerment at the terminal, Xiangpiaopiao is building a "trust community" from brand to channel. This trust certificate injects more confidence into distributors than any flashy advertising slogan. Final Thoughts Today's FMCG industry is not short of stories; it lacks certainty. The biggest pain point for distributors is not finding new products but fearing being swept into a fleeting "marketing bubble." Xiangpiaopiao's textbook operation here offers a clear battle map for "how old brands rejuvenate" and "how big hits are ignited." Strategic certainty: Anchoring in the "healthification" mega-trend, aligning with consumer trends, and showing the channel the future direction. Product certainty: Building a quality moat that consumers can easily perceive with "visible" real ingredients. Commitment certainty: Using champion endorsements and heavy asset investment to double-endorse brand credibility and channel confidence. In an era of traffic supremacy and rapid product obsolescence, Xiangpiaopiao's choice may offer the industry a simpler answer: returning to the product, respecting the channel, and providing certainty are the true weapons to navigate cycles and achieve long-term growth. This might be the answer all practitioners need most right now.