Overview

Heytea (喜茶), styled in English as HEYTEA, is a Chinese beverage brand associated with the development of the country’s modern, premium tea-drink market. The company was founded in 2012 in Jiangmen, Guangdong, by Nie Yunchen, and later established its headquarters in Shenzhen. It began as a specialist tea shop and grew into a widely recognized chain, with a brand identity built around contemporary tea drinks and a presentation intended to distinguish it from traditional tea houses and conventional milk-tea outlets. The range is centered on made-to-order drinks. Its best-known product categories include brewed tea combined with milk or cheese foam, fruit-based tea drinks, and other tea-led refreshments. The brand helped popularize cheese tea in China, bringing a creamy, lightly savory topping together with tea in a format designed for contemporary retail and social sharing. Menus and seasonal offerings have changed over time, so individual products and availability vary by market and store. Heytea’s main market is China, and the brand has also pursued international expansion. Its stores and digital channels bring the product range to customers in multiple markets, though the precise footprint and menu can change. The brand presents itself as an innovator in new-style tea, using product development, visual design, and limited or seasonal offerings to maintain consumer interest. The supplied official homepage describes the brand with the phrase “new style tea by inspiration.” Heytea is a privately held commercial brand rather than a publicly listed company. It is commonly identified with Shenzhen-based operating entities, but the supplied evidence does not specify a current ultimate owner or parent company. The company remains active in the competitive Chinese tea-drink sector, where it operates alongside both established beverage chains and newer tea brands.

History

Heytea was founded in 2012 in Jiangmen, Guangdong, by Nie Yunchen. It entered a beverage market where tea had long been consumed in traditional forms, but where urban customers were increasingly drawn to convenient, customizable drinks sold through modern retail outlets. The company developed a specialist tea-shop concept around freshly prepared drinks and a more contemporary presentation. Its original Chinese name was associated with the 皇茶/Royaltea name; the brand later adopted the Heytea/喜茶 identity used today. A defining part of Heytea’s early growth was its emphasis on tea drinks that combined brewed tea with richer toppings. Cheese tea, in particular, became strongly associated with the brand and helped make the format prominent in China’s new-style tea sector. The company subsequently broadened its menu with fruit teas and other tea-based combinations, using new product releases and changing menus to encourage repeat visits. Products have varied over time and between locations. As the business expanded beyond its initial home market, Heytea became a recognizable chain and moved its headquarters to Shenzhen. Its growth coincided with a broader expansion of China’s modern tea-drink industry, in which brands compete through product differentiation, store experience, design, and digital ordering. Heytea has operated primarily in China while also developing an international presence. Store counts, locations, and local offerings are subject to change and are not specified in the supplied evidence. The brand’s public identity emphasizes inspiration and new-style tea. Its official homepage uses the line “new style tea by inspiration.” This positioning reflects the company’s focus on contemporary tea beverages rather than a traditional tea-house format. Heytea continues to sell freshly made tea drinks in a crowded and evolving market. It is privately held and is not publicly listed; the supplied source does not identify its ultimate owner or current corporate parent.

2023
Opened stores in the United Kingdom and Australia.
2022
Began offering franchising opportunities.
2021
Raised $500 million Series D round, valuing company at over $4 billion.
2020
Launched Heytea GO mobile ordering platform.
2018
Expanded to over 100 stores in China and entered Singapore.
2017
Opened first store in Shanghai, known for long queues.
2016
Rebranded as Heytea and secured Series A investment from IDG Capital and Sequoia China.
2012
Founded as Royaltea in Jiangmen, Guangdong by Neo Nie.
2012
Heytea founded in Jiangmen
Brand identity develops as Heytea (喜茶)
Headquarters established in Shenzhen

Products and positioning

A contemporary, premium-oriented new-style tea brand focused on freshly prepared drinks, product innovation, and modern retail presentation.

Cheese Grape
A signature fruit tea with grape and cheese foam.
Cheese Berry
Strawberry and blueberry tea with cheese foam.
Cheese Mango
Mango tea with cheese foam.
Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea
Milk tea with brown sugar and tapioca pearls.
Cheese tea
Tea drinks topped with a creamy cheese-based foam, a category closely associated with Heytea.
Fruit tea
Tea-based drinks combined with fruit flavors or ingredients.
Freshly prepared tea drinks
Made-to-order tea beverages offered through Heytea stores.

Controversies

2023
Heytea Foxi co-branded tea drink removed amid religious commercial marketing controversy
In December 2023, Heytea's Foxi co-branded product sparked controversy due to commercial marketing involving religious elements, and was voluntarily removed from shelves after Heytea was summoned for talks by Shenzhen's ethnic and religious affairs department. Caixin reported that at the time the relevant authorities did not characterize it as illegal or carry out law enforcement penalties. This entry is a marketing controversy and rectification record.
Source
2021
Court rules on HEYTEA trademark dispute
A court found that Guangzhou Jinfeng Catering Management Co. used a sign similar to Shenzhen Meixixi Catering Management Co.'s registered HEYTEA marks, creating a risk that consumers would be confused about the source of the goods or services. The court ordered Jinfeng and Dongguan Shilong Chatalang Restaurant to stop using similar signs and pay a total of RMB 560,000 in damages to Meixixi.
Source
2021
Heytea denies reports of improper colorant use
Heytea responded to media reports alleging improper use of the colorant Sunset Yellow, denying any such violation and saying that regulators found no violations during their inspection of Heytea.
Source

Recent events

Unconfirmed
Reported2026.10.19
HEYTEA launches HEYTEA GO mobile app[5]喜茶推出HEYTEA GO手机应用marketing-interactive.com
HEYTEA launched its HEYTEA GO mobile app in collaboration with Wirecard. The app was made available in all HEYTEA stores in Singapore and Hong Kong and lets customers order and pay online.
2022.02.24
Reported2022.02.26
Heytea announces drink price limits and no increases for the year[6]喜茶宣布年度饮品价格上限及不涨价food.cnr.cn
Heytea announced that it would not introduce drinks priced at 29 yuan or more during the year and would not raise prices on any drinks during the year. It said it could lower prices while maintaining ingredients, quality and taste because of its supply-chain development.
2022.02.09
Reported2022.02.09
Heytea denies rumors of large-scale layoffs[7]喜茶回应并否认大规模裁员传闻finance.sina.com.cn
Heytea responded to rumors of layoffs, saying the reports were false and that the company had no alleged large-scale layoffs. It described limited pre-holiday personnel adjustments as normal adjustments and optimization based on year-end evaluations.
Unconfirmed
Reported2022.02.09
Layoffs reported at HEYTEA[8]报道称喜茶正在裁员epochtimes.com
A report said HEYTEA was laying off employees, with some departments fully cut and others reduced. HEYTEA's relevant department responded to an inquiry by saying it had not heard of layoffs.
Unconfirmed
喜茶 lowers prices on selected products[9]喜茶下调部分产品价格tmtpost.com
喜茶 lowered prices on selected fruit tea, milk tea and pure tea products by approximately 3–7 yuan. Its ordering mini-program also listed products in categories labeled “要平价” and “要简单.”
Unconfirmed
HEYTEA reduces prices on some drinks[10]喜茶部分茶饮降价news.runsky.com
HEYTEA said some of its drinks had been reduced in price by 1 to 7 yuan. It said the purpose was to make its products more accessible and lower-cost for customers.
2021.12.09
星期零 and Heytea plan a plant-based beef product collaboration[11]星期零与喜茶计划合作推出植物牛肉新品donews.com
星期零 CEO Kiki said 星期零 would collaborate with Heytea to introduce at least one new product containing 星期零大师黑椒植物牛肉; the article describes this as a future plan.
Unconfirmed
HEYTEA takes a majority stake in 野萃山[12]喜茶入股野萃山finance.jrj.com.cn
野萃山's associated company, Shenzhen Haolin Catering Co., Ltd., added HEYTEA (Shenzhen) Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. as a shareholder. HEYTEA's entity holds 60% of the company's shares and is its largest shareholder.
2021.11.11
Heytea completes controlling investment in Yecuishan[13]喜茶完成对野萃山的控股投资tmtpost.com
Heytea completed an investment that gave it a 60% stake and made it the largest shareholder of Yecuishan. The source reports that Yecuishan's associated company added Heytea (Shenzhen) Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. as a shareholder on November 11.
Unconfirmed
Reported2021.09.22
Court rules on HEYTEA trademark dispute[3]Court rules on HEYTEA trademark disputefinance.sina.com.cn
A court found that Guangzhou Jinfeng Catering Management Co. used a sign similar to Shenzhen Meixixi Catering Management Co.'s registered HEYTEA marks, creating a risk that consumers would be confused about the source of the goods or services. The court ordered Jinfeng and Dongguan Shilong Chatalang Restaurant to stop using similar signs and pay a total of RMB 560,000 in damages to Meixixi.

Overview

History

Products and positioning

Controversies

Recent events

Sources30 sources