Salty Milk Tea Emerges as the New Favorite

The new tea beverage market is swept by a ‘salty aroma trend’, with salty milk tea evolving from a niche experiment to a hit category. Multiple leading brands have seen their new products sell out one after another, sparking an industry-wide ‘salty rush’.

HeyTea’s “Jiangxiang Bai Tuo Suiyinzi” (Saucey White Crumbled Silver) has become a viral sensation, with its innovative blend of Yunnan sweet soy sauce, glutinous Pu’ er tea, and salted seaweed fragments causing stockouts for three consecutive days in select stores. Another standout product, “Oyster Mushroom Suoyinzi” infused with white mushroom sauce, takes the savory flavor to new heights. Meanwhile, brands like Nai Xue’s Tea’s “Xianfa Yili Bubu” and Luckin Coffee’s “Xilin Gol Salted Milk Tea” are dominating sales charts. Two collaborative salted milk teas from Cha Bai Dao have surpassed one million cups sold within just 10 days of release.

On social media, the hashtag ‘Salted Milk Tea Reviews’ rapidly topped the trending list, sparking a wave of consumer sharing. According to a report by Kamen Drink Power Lab, among 55 monitored chain brands, salted beverages are launched monthly, becoming the mainstream in new product development.

Although some consumers said it was “difficult to accept”, the market heat confirms the value of innovation. Industry insiders pointed out that the salty and sweet characteristics are suitable for the demand for hot drinks in autumn and winter, and also provide a new innovation direction for the industry under the competition of existing stocks.