Honey Snow Ice City capital market hit, ignited the new style of tea drink wealth creation dream.
Author Lao Gao
Source Investor ID touzijias
A 90-year-old from Yunnan, he is more ambitious than the founder of Honey Snow Ice City, Zhang Hongchao Zhang Hongfu brothers, he wants to surpass Starbucks and sell Chinese milk tea to the world to conquer the United States, so that foreigners can feel the charm of the Oriental tea drink.
Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission, a paper filing announcement has attracted great attention from the media, known as China’s first net red milk tea, known as the king of tea, has started the U.S. stock IPO journey. This is also the first milk tea company in China’s new consumer market in four years that dares to go to the U.S. stock market. If things go well, Bawang Cha Ji will not only open the door for China’s new tea drinks to be sold globally, but also let China’s new consumerism be in the global spotlight.
China’s legendary post-1990s Lemony Snacks founder, John Zhang, will become a rich man overnight. The former Honey Snow Ice City to fight in the Hong Kong stock market to bring confidence in consumerism, followed by the king of tea Ji ran to the United States to attract global capital. China’s consumer track is about to explode.
A
Left hand technology, right hand consumption.
In 2025, China’s science and technology consumption is full of passion. At the beginning of the Year of the Snake, the AI fever triggered by DeepSeek spread to the science and technology track, and for a while, a large number of black technologies in science fiction movies came to the mortal world, and China’s AI industry swept the world. In March, the silent consumer track suddenly caught fire, and Honey Ice City’s trillion-dollar frozen capital refreshed history and shook the global capital market.
Honey Ice City is like DeepSeek, which boosted technology, and boosted the consumer track. The former consumer’s biggest windfall, the new tea drinks, which have lost many battles in the capital market, are the first to benefit, and they have blown the horn of getting rich by knocking on the door of the IPO. Among the companies, the determination of the IPO of the king of tea Ji is a special one, they did not choose to crazy crowded Hong Kong stocks, but a rare choice of U.S. stocks.
Since the king of storytelling Lu Zhengyao, the former chairman of Ruixing Coffee, made a $2.2 billion financial fraud case in the U.S. stock market, the fate of Chinese stocks in the U.S. stock market has become confusing, leading to no new consumer companies to dare to go to the U.S. stock market IPO in recent years. The new consumer track is characterized by more financing, large scale, heavy assets, short-term earnings instability. This makes some companies to go to the A-share hopeless.
So the new consumer companies put their dreams on the Hong Kong stock market. But Hong Kong stocks in the past did not like the new consumer, especially the new tea drinks. In the words of an old media person in the VC circle, there are too many storytellers who want to go to Hong Kong stocks, so why expect others not to vote with their feet? Financing more large scale assets heavy short-term earnings are not stable. Corresponding to the betting on the big bubble, high debt, burning money marketing.
Hong Kong stocks hate the new style of tea drinks, shareholders refused to buy. But it has not affected the pace of new tea drinks dream of creating wealth. In 2025, the hot Honey Snow Ice City IPO halted twice, the beginning of the year against the trend of listing of Gu Ming IPO halted twice, and desperately listing is still not listed on the Shanghai Auntie IPO halted twice. These are all outstanding new-style tea drink companies, but it is hard to describe their apprehension on the IPO road.
What about the rest? Trying to break through IPO is as difficult as climbing up to heaven. Is it because the prospectus is not good enough for the successive IPOs? Not really. For example, Honey Snow Ice City, in 2021, there will be 30,000 stores, annual revenue of 103.51 billion yuan, net profit of 1.91 billion yuan. But they still lost their IPOs. Analysts also failed to explain why they lost the IPO. The answer is that the wind is shifting to technology.
The Hong Kong stock market is so big, milk tea can tell how much premium space? Can we talk about technology and medicine? But the new tea drinks in the new consumer position is very embarrassing, the threshold of entrepreneurship is low, money to do. Not IPO breakthrough, the end is most likely to be swallowed by the latter wave. Xicha is very famous, right? It was exposed to close stores. In 2025, they suspended the franchise model, reflecting that the industry has run off course.
After Xi Cha, the two major netroots, Cha Yan Yue Shi Percent Tea, a large area of store closures, the other is not much noise. Fortunately, the wind gap fission achievement of the honey snow ice city Hong Kong stock shine, change the face of the new style of tea drinks, regained the attention of the capital. It is said that the percentage of tea are making a comeback, honey snow ice city ignited the dream of new-style tea drinks to create wealth, a number of milk tea players to run to the Hong Kong stock market.
The Hong Kong stock market is hot, and the overlord of the Tea Jie does not want to go.
two
They put the IPO target to the United States stock market, where the new tea drinks do not dare to bet.
In fact, before going to the U.S. IPO, the king of tea Ji has repeatedly exposed the news of the planned IPO, but have been characterized as fake news. At that time, there are two kinds of statements. First, the capital market on the new-style tea drinks vote with their feet, the king of tea Ji will be depressed valuation, do not want to repeat the mistakes of the previous wave. Secondly, the king of tea Ji Zhang Junjie ambition is great, has been looking for the right time to run to the United States stock market.
The possibility of these two statements are estimated. After all, that will be Honey Snow Ice City IPO difficult, the success rate of the king of tea Ji will not be high. But John Zhang’s ambition is really big, he shouted in 2024, sales this year, the overall super Starbucks China almost let the media think, John Zhang to take Lu Zhengyao’s class. Soon after the slogan, Lu Zhengyao became the first big fool.
When John Zhang shouted the slogan, the king of tea Ji has not yet burst into flames. But it is also considered a unique route company in the new tea drinks. Its uniqueness is that often drink milk tea is unhealthy, but they want to do a cup of 0 added low-fat calories low intake of healthy milk tea.
Since the birth of the new tea drink concept, there have been 3 major routes. First, take the low-priced route, mainly cheap and delicious. Second, take the route of good quality ingredients, high prices, real materials. Third, take the health route, 0 added 0 sugar 0 card. Honey Snow Ice City is the leader of the first route, they are from small cities to big cities, ruling the low-priced milk tea business.
The second major route is represented by Nai Xue’s Tea and Xi Cha. Good ingredients will involve quality control, or quality control is important, so the second route companies often give up franchising, go direct route. The good thing is that the brand premium is high, the bad thing is that the assets are heavy and the liabilities are high. Neshe’s tea financial reports in the past years have verified this characteristic. This kind of company needs to constantly finance and burn money, and the return cycle is long.
According to the profit warning announcement issued by Naixue’s Tea, the company expects its annual revenue in 2024 to be about 4.8 billion yuan to 5.1 billion yuan, and its adjusted net loss in 2024 is expected to be about 8.8 billion yuan to 9.7 billion yuan on a non-IFRS basis. Listed in 2021, Naixue’s tea in 2024 still can not deliver investors satisfied with the financial results, the second largest route to do it on thin ice.
And the third route? Not much has been attempted. The third route is even more difficult to succeed than the second route. Milk tea and health, is contrary to each other. Moreover, healthy things will weaken the taste, high sugar, high oil, high salt food is delicious. Before 2016, the mainstream trend of global young people’s consumption is non-healthy, and it is very difficult for companies that follow the healthy route to make it.
But 2016 is a watershed in the global consumption trend of young people. Starting from this year, the three reductions and three health, salt, oil and sugar reduction, healthy mouth, healthy weight and healthy bones are deeply rooted in people’s hearts and minds, and the global concept of sugar control has emerged. Young people focus on health, the new consumption wind gap fission user portrait differentiation. Bao Wang Cha Ji is the beneficiary of the new trend of global sugar control.
Three
To be a globalized new style tea drink brand. This is the new goal that James Zhang set for Bawang Tea Ji.
In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Bawang Tea Ji will bet on China’s first Olympic women’s tennis champion, Zheng Qinwen, to be crowned the god of the game.
With the intense marketing layout, the popularity of Bawang Tea Ji on the Internet soared, and it was a hot mess. Offline, Bawang Jie stores showed a bustling scene of young people lining up to buy the products. Relying on Zheng Qinwen, Bawang Tea Ji has replaced Xicha as China’s No. 1 online milk tea. Bawang Tea Ji has placed extra emphasis on the online campaign, creating several hot searches, and using traffic to support the health of milk tea.
At the level of brand value output, Bawang Tea Ji emphasizes oriental tea culture and popularizes tea knowledge among young people. This company in the direction of the new tea drinks played out another realm, a jump out of the inherent form of milk tea. A VC investor once said in a circle of friends that Bao Wang Chaji has played a new concept, and other new tea drink companies are already not in a track.
This indirectly explains the original intention of Ba Wang Cha Ji to give up Hong Kong stocks to embrace the U.S. stock market. The concept is new, can not avoid comparing each other. Go to the U.S. stock is different, go is the first net red milk tea stock. Of course, this is the capitalization perspective. Zhang Junjie’s ambition is the eastern tea culture radiation global. Bawang Tea Ji has not been against the counterparts, but cross-border against the coffee Starbucks, in the Starbucks brand premium space, the U.S. stock market Starbucks market value of 114.868 billion U.S. dollars, about 833.4 billion yuan.
Such a huge capital value is far beyond that of any milk tea company. Lemony Snacks has put itself on a high pedestal. Its strategy revolves around sniping Starbucks, surpassing Starbucks and replacing Starbucks. In 2018, just one year after its establishment, Bawang Cha Ji decided to walk on two legs, grasping the Chinese market on the one hand, and setting up an overseas division to penetrate the world on the other. At present, Bawang Tea Ji has more than 150 stores around the world, and they have also set up a localized team in the United States to export oriental tea culture.
Overseas, Bawang Tea Ji has a clear goal to make foreigners fall in love with oriental tea beverages. Their latest plan is to conquer the United States. The first step in conquering the United States is an IPO in the United States. As long as the IPO, together with the American localization team and superior marketing strategy, American young people will pay for Chinese milk tea. The U.S. localization team has gradually grasped the needs of Americans in their research.
Lemony Snacks IPO in the United States is a reflection of the materialization of the needs of young people in the United States. Did not do enough to prepare for the king of tea Ji categorically dare not go to the U.S. stock bet. This logically echoes the IPO fake news in front of the King of Tea Ji many times, and John Zhang does not fight unprepared for the battle.
In the milk tea industry, the king of tea Ji looks not a strong capital strength of the company, only two rounds of financing, far from being able to compare with the tea tea Nai Xue’s tea. But Zhang Junjie with the least amount of money to do the biggest thing, breaking the milk tea law of burning money. This kind of operation looks at the entire new consumer track, not common. Honey Snow Ice City is the king of the first round of financing before getting 2 billion yuan.
Honey Snow Ice City financing is for the organization to guide the IPO. The Lemony Snacks are quite magical.
Four
The magic is inseparable from the legend.
John Zhang is China’s Legendary Post-90s.
He never went to school, lost his parents at the age of 10, wandered at the age of 15, became literate at the age of 18, started his own business at the age of 24, and became famous at the age of 32. I’m afraid there is no one else in the world with such a legendary experience. Zhang Junjie’s life was so unfortunate that he never gave up. At the age of 17, he changed his life by working in a milk tea store owned by a Chinese company in Taiwan and fell in love with milk tea. He was a diligent student and overcame his illiteracy for the ideal of milk tea, and was recognized by managers at all levels.
By the clerk dry to store assistant store manager regional supervisor regional responsible person, after accumulating the first bucket of gold, he reversed to do the milk tea store franchisee agent, the milk tea ecological chain to understand the Zhang Junjie and from the consumer cut to science and technology, he wants to understand the new technology in the science and technology track to make up for the new technology, but also in Shanghai, a science and technology company to do the executives, and then turn around to go back to the new style of tea drink entrepreneurship.
The timing of his business is very precise, in the global trend of leading sugar control. His grasp of the timing of the venture is so high that it even surpasses the sense of smell of the top stream VC PE. It is not difficult to see that VC PEs are not optimistic about Bajaj Tea Drinks with only two rounds of financing. These two rounds of financing were almost exclusively participated by XVC, a new generation VC. XVC was founded by young investor Hu Boyu in 2016.
Hu Boyu’s popularity in the VC PE industry is average, and the case he can take is the king of tea. Explain, Zhang Junjie looking for financing to find exceptionally difficult, he does not meet the characteristics of entrepreneurial success, did not have a high education, high-end contacts, returnee background, large factory endorsement.
He invested in the business plan, VC PE do not even look at. The two rounds of financing for Lemony Snacks are also thanks to the fact that XVC is a newcomer to the market. If it was a mature VC PE, it would have rejected James Zhang. As a result, this legendary post-90s entrepreneur has unexpectedly made a comeback.
In terms of product positioning, Bawang Cha Ji advocates real tea and real milk. With its star product, the “Bao Ya Jie Sheng”, the company has entered the top tier of milk tea brands. In 2024, the cumulative sales volume of the “Teeth of the String” exceeded 600 million cups, refreshing the milk tea industry’s perception that real materials are not easy to sell. In addition to selling milk tea, what is more noteworthy about Lemony Snacks is the membership mechanism that is deeply tied to the consumers’ platform attributes.
Membership mechanism play a lot of people, coffee and milk tea play a lot, the king of tea Ji play very 6, integration of diversified value to consumers, building a user barrier. By the end of 2024, the number of global members of Bajaji Tea reached 17.8 billion, a year-on-year growth of 160, the total number of stores exceeded 6,000, and the projected GMV exceeded 20 billion yuan. In fiscal year 2024, Starbucks China had over 7,000 total stores and revenues of about RMB21 billion, down 14% year-on-year. In terms of bookkeeping, Lemony Snicket did not surpass Starbucks China in 2024.
Overtaking Starbucks in China is more of a long-term goal. Bajaj also has a long way to go in China. John Zhang wants to take small steps to go to the United States IPO, to go to the global market to realize the dream. Hopefully, the U.S. IPO of Bawang Tea Kee will not forget its original intention, do not go public that is the peak, do a good job with every cup of milk tea, so that foreigners feel the charm of the Oriental tea drink.
So, are you optimistic about the future of Bao Wang Cha Ji?
Capital Breakthrough 2019 China Fund Partners GPLP Summit
Return to Value Investment 2018 China Equity Investment Annual Summit
Leave a Reply