"Starbucks of the East" Brings Cheese Tea to the French Capital of Cheese

It’s a brand you may never have heard of selling a type of unique tea you may never have tried but with over 100 million customers worldwide, Chinese brand HEYTEA is using the Olympics to launch its unique range of beverages to mainland Europe.

HEYTEA is the inventor of Cheese Tea: a tea topped with a generous layer of fresh cheese and is bringing its unique product – among others - to Paris, the cheese capital of the world. It is opening a pop up in the centre of the French capital to coincide with the Olympics in partnership with trendy Chinese restaurant chain, BAO Family.

It is the latest step in the ambitious global expansion plans of the company that started with just one modest tea shop in Guangdong back in 2012.

It started by creating the Chinese ‘new style tea’ movement offering a fresh and healthier alternative to the Bubble Tea craze which has gone on to sweep the world.

Using fresh fruits, fresh tea leaves, premium milk, and cane sugar instead of instant tea powder and artificial additives, HEYTEA pioneered a new generation of new style tea products creating a phenomenon that is revolutionizing the tea market in Asia.

Twelve years on, HEYTEA now has more than 4,000 stores in over 300 cities with more than 100m customers worldwide and is best-seller product Grape Boom (Original) has sold over 150 million cups from 2018 to 2023.

Its phenomenal growth has earned it the nickname ‘Starbucks of The East.’

The privately owned company already has stores in Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Malaysia and South Korea and became the first Chinese new style tea chain brand to enter the U.S. market last December when it opened its Broadway store in New York. HEYTEA also witnessed a warm reception from New York consumers, achieving a remarkable sales volume of 2,500 cups on the opening day.

Already known for its partnerships with brands like FENDI, Adidas, and Fragment, HEYTEA and Bao Family are joining forces to create a pop-up at Bao Express, in the heart of the 11th arrondissement.

HEYTEA will introduce French consumers to four of its flagship drinks such as the Grape Boom (the original), the Mango Grapefruit Boom, the Supreme Brown Sugar Bobo Milk (the original) and the Cheese Green Tea (the original).

HEYTEA is a private company with strong capital backing. In 2021, HEYTEA completed a new round of financing amounting to 500 million USD, attracting investments from prominent entities such as IDG, Dragonball Capital, Sequoia China, Hillhouse Capital, Tencent, Temasek, L Catterton, BA Capital, and Dayone Capital.