Shanghai’s shopping malls experienced a surge in food and beverage sector popularity, constituting a record 45 percent of total retail property transactions in Q4 2023, according to a report by property developer CBRE. Notably, new Chinese tea drink and healthy yogurt brands, including Chagee, ChaPanda, Naixue, More Yogurt, and Blueglass Yogurt, garnered significant attention and contributed to robust retail results.
Distinguishing themselves by using Chinese tea as the primary base with milk or cream supplements, the new tea drink brands present a unique interpretation of traditional Chinese tea. Brands like Chagee and Naixue emphasize promoting Chinese tea culture and a healthy lifestyle, aligning with the contemporary trend of “China Chic” and consumer aspirations for improved well-being.
In the competitive landscape of 2023, Naixue, for instance, expanded with the opening of 166 new stores in September, while Chagee boasted 3,000 outlets by the same period. The popularity of yogurt brands, More Yogurt and Blueglass Yogurt, also soared, with More Yogurt rapidly expanding and opening over 1,000 outlets in 2023. Blueglass Yogurt secured more than 200 million yuan in financing, showcasing the robust growth of these ventures.
Dr. Cao Yixia from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences noted that the trend of shopping district consumption, driven by the younger generation seeking cultural identities and social opportunities, has become prominent. She emphasized the need for Shanghai companies to embody the city’s distinctive personality and culture to cater to these evolving consumer preferences.
The food and beverage sector’s pivotal role in Shanghai’s retail property market recovery during Q4 2023 was underscored by a Jones Lang LaSalle survey, revealing that prime retail property leasing in big shopping complexes totaled 268,000 square meters in the quarter, surpassing the pre-epidemic annual figure of 610,000 square meters with a total of 730,000 square meters leased in 2023. Six projects in non-core shopping districts, such as Bailian Xijiao and Zhenru Huanyu MAX City, were launched during the quarter, with new projects securing over 95 percent of funding.
