An article from May 2015, reflecting my thoughts at the time, followed by the crowdfunding of "China's First Ancient Tree Pu'er Tea" - that was my choice. Reading it now, it's still interesting, so I've included it in my Tea Talk on Paper series to share with everyone.
The limitations and backwardness of the traditional tea industry in today's China are so outdated and out of place. Anyone with ideas can criticize the tea industry and lecture its practitioners. Tea industry gatherings are even called "gatherings of the poor"...
Indeed! Not a single tea company in China has truly gone public. The saying "70,000 tea companies can't compete with one Lipton" still shames us today. The "high, rich, and handsome" in the tea industry are actually top performers from other industries who come to dabble in tea, and after a while, they wave goodbye and stop playing with tea, mostly leaving behind remarks like "this industry is terrible, no money to be made, full of swindlers." The tea empire is left with only legends; heroes age, beauties grow old, and the afterglow of the setting sun still shines on this once world-dominating, now insignificant industry.
Those people are gone, leaving only legends. We must start anew!
First, Make Yourself Not Understand Tea
Forget about understanding tea, knowing how to taste it, and the processing techniques. Forget about going deep into tea mountains. Forget about the fake traditions that are unavoidable, the famous mountains and ancient trees that consumers never understand, and selling tea by telling stories and competing on taste. Forget all that. First, make yourself not understand tea, and determine your strategy with fresh eyes. Look at your strengths, learn more from beverage companies, and figure out how to sell a consumer tea well.
Then, Learn from Consumers
See what kind of tea the post-90s generation likes to drink. Is it convenience, taste, fun, cheapness, or all of these? Go to the office tea bars in high-rise buildings and see what they're drinking and what they're using to drink it. How can we make our tea appealing to them? Go to airport lounges and see what's in the cups travelers carry. Ask them what form and taste of tea they prefer.
Also, Learn from Advertising Agencies
Product not yet made, but ideas first. Don't be afraid of trademark and intellectual property registration fees, and don't be stingy with product identity systems. Sharpening the axe never delays the cutting of wood. If you can't even do the packaging well and keep changing your trademark, your company will fail.
At this point, we know what tea we want to make.
We are making beverages in the name of tea, but we don't provide pre-mixed liquids. We provide good-tasting, cheap tea. We provide convenient and fun tea. Innovation is sometimes just an idea.
We Should Learn from Internet Companies
A century-old brand takes too long; overnight fame is possible. How to quickly use online marketing for a V1 version of the product, get the first batch of users, then quickly adjust and release V2, then influence more second-batch users. Persist, withstand various pressures, and repeat the process.
Learn from the Media
Look at a successful magazine: every article and every image is of high quality, as if written and shot by one person. The people who know your company best are your own. Set up a copywriting department, even if it's just one person. It will become systematic, and continuous, consistent messaging is the only effective way.
Next, Learn from Internet Companies Again
How to use IT for systematic management. The wealthy can start from the first step. Build a reliable, efficient system, use the data it feeds back, stay away from decisions made on a whim, and make scientific data management possible.
Finally, Learn from Traditional Tea Companies
Don't be confused or curse at Lao Lü of 51 when you see this. Things are dialectical. Let me tell you what to learn from traditional tea companies.
Learn the Tea Culture Marketing of Traditional Tea Companies
Everyone knows tea is good for health, detoxifies, and is a healthy beverage. This is the cultural marketing of our ancestors. Traditional tea companies have been inheriting and continuously promoting this. We need it too.
Learn the Origin Marketing of Traditional Tea Companies
People always want the most authentic products. They won't buy a Hami melon unless it's directly shipped from Xinjiang. The advantage of origin is especially important in an era where even tea farmers are going O2O.
Learn the Market of Traditional Tea Companies
The traditional tea market is a mix of good and bad, with various legends and wild marketing, simple and crude. But there's no denying that there are tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of consumers, including big spenders willing to pay a fortune. The 20% in the 80/20 rule cannot be given up. How to convert these consumers into loyal users of your company is a priority. Giving up is the worst choice.
The tea road is long; let's watch and walk!
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