Chinese tea chain Chagee filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States on Tuesday (25 March 2025), positioning itself to become the first Chinese “new-style tea drink brand” listed on the US stock market. If successful, Chagee will join the ranks of Nayuki’s Tea, Chabaidao, Guming, and Mixue Group, which are already publicly traded in Hong Kong.
The wave of IPOs among Chinese tea brands reflects growing investor confidence in China’s expanding consumer market, an industry expert said on Wednesday.
Founded in 2017, Chagee has rapidly scaled its presence, operating 6,440 teahouses as of December 31, 2024, including 6,284 locations in China. The company’s financial performance has been equally impressive, with net revenue soaring to 12.41 billion yuan ($1.71 billion) in 2024—up from 4.64 billion yuan the previous year. Net income surged 213.3% to 2.51 billion yuan, according to company filings.
Chagee plans to use the IPO proceeds to expand its teahouse network both domestically and internationally, alongside other corporate initiatives.
Its public offering follows a series of successful listings by other Chinese tea brands. On March 3, Mixue Group saw its shares jump 43.21% on its debut trading day on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). Guming, another bubble tea chain, went public on February 12, marking Hong Kong’s first new listing of the Year of the Snake. Nayuki’s Tea set the precedent in June 2021 as the world’s first publicly listed tea drink brand, followed by Chabaidao’s IPO in April 2024.
Tian Yun, a veteran economist, told the Global Times that the increasing number of publicly traded Chinese tea brands highlights strong investor confidence in the country’s consumer sector. Chagee’s US IPO, he added, could attract international investors and support the company’s global expansion efforts.
China’s booming tea beverage industry is driven by consumers’ demand for quality, innovative flavors, and personalized experiences. Younger consumers, in particular, have fueled the rapid growth of the sector, Tian noted.
According to a report by iiMedia Research, China’s new-style tea drinks market reached 333.38 billion yuan in 2023 and is projected to grow to 374.93 billion yuan by 2025.
Meanwhile, China continues to implement policies to bolster domestic consumption. Official data released in March showed that retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending, rose 4% year-on-year in the first two months of 2025.–GLOBAL TIMES
