Brands up guochao to attract young consumers

BEIJING — At Wuyutai Tea shop on Qianmen Street, a landmark commercial thoroughfare in Beijing, customers are lining up to buy specialty tea ice cream.

Well-known for its jasmine tea, Wuyutai Tea is a time-honored tea brand with a 135-year history in the capital city. It owns over 500 outlets around the country.

"We have long noted the market changes and developed tea ice cream in 2008. It is popular with our customers," said Zhao Shuxin, chairman of the board at Wuyutai Tea.

The strong consumption power of the younger generations has promoted the transformation of Wuyutai Tea in recent years.

In 2021, Wuyutai Tea embraced guochao, a consumer trend among young people meaning "China-chic". It features products designed with traditional cultural elements, and Wuyutai Tea launched an array of "tea plus" products, including tea drinks, dim sum and mooncakes.

Wuyutai Tea is among 223 time-honored brands in Beijing that are recognized by the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau. These brands are jumping on the guochao bandwagon, developing products to catch the attention of young consumers.

During weekends, the Jiaodaokou branch of Beiping Ice Factory, located in Beijing's Dongcheng district, is always crowded with people.

It is a concept store operated by the brand Beibingyang, a much-loved soda drink brand rooted in Beijing since 1936. Beibingyang, also known as Arctic Ocean, is firm in the memories of generations of Beijingers.

"The store holds strong appeal for customers of all ages, with a daily turnover on weekends reaching over 70,000 yuan ($10,367)," said Li Haochen, head of the store.

"What we want to do is to combine the time-honored brand with guochao to attract young consumers and enhance brand recognition," said Du Weiwei, vice-general manager of Beijing Yiqing Food Group Co Ltd, parent company of Beibingyang.

These time-honored brands have thrived, banking also on the support of the municipal government. The commerce department in Beijing has been providing financial support for the heritage protection and development of such brands for over 10 consecutive years.

Xinhua