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Recently, a netizen claiming to be a former employee of Yidiandian posted online that he was "covertly threatened" by company personnel after reporting black tea containing foreign objects at a store and filing for labor arbitration. The incident sparked widespread discussion after being exposed, and the hashtag "Yidiandian threatens employees" quickly trended on social media.
In fact, this is not the first time Yidiandian has been at the center of public opinion this year. In February, the brand became embroiled in a "fake charity" controversy over "a sponsored boy being photographed wearing a watch worth over a thousand yuan"; in June, multiple stores were exposed for arbitrarily altering food ingredient expiration labels and other food safety violations. What is intriguing is that precisely at a time when problems are frequent, Yidiandian's store count is surging. Data from Zhaomen Canyan shows that since the beginning of this year, Yidiandian has opened more than 1,500 stores.
From public welfare doubts to food safety failures, and now to employment disputes, what Yidiandian needs to make up for may not just be a response, but management rules that can truly be implemented at every store, from quality control feedback to labor dispute handling.
"I reported Yidiandian's food safety issue, and someone found my hometown"
Recently, a post by someone claiming to be a former Yidiandian employee ignited the internet. The netizen stated that he formally joined Yidiandian's Heren Road directly-operated store on March 25, 2026, and discovered stones in the black tea on June 25. After reporting the issue, the quality control team told him that "it's fine to pick out the foreign object and continue using it." (Image source: Xiaohongshu)
On August 5, the netizen formally resigned, citing the failure to sign a labor contract upon hiring and the lack of handling of food safety issues. "Reporting, confirming, checking the contract, filing for arbitration — every step is legal. No extortion, no rumors," he emphasized.
However, according to the netizen's own account, after filing for labor arbitration, Yidiandian did not negotiate with him or follow legal procedures. Instead, it sent three people to his grandparents' home. The three played a video of him sorting red tea at work to the two elderly people in their seventies or eighties, implying extortion and stating that "the police have already been called." The elderly later called their grandson to inform him of the matter, and he questioned whether this constituted a threat: "You went to them not because you had a case, but because you knew I had no way to resist."
It is understood that on September 3, the netizen signed an arbitration mediation agreement with Yidiandian, and the labor dispute was settled. Nevertheless, the incident still attracted widespread attention and discussion among netizens after being exposed. Many netizens expressed anger toward Yidiandian. One netizen said, "I drink at least three or four cups of Yidiandian a week. If you don't handle this properly, I will never drink it again in my life. People around me won't drink it either. I will boycott you forever." Another netizen said, "A brand should not threaten family members like this. The situation has reached a point of insanity."
Facing the continuously escalating public opinion, Yidiandian responded that "the relevant personnel, unable to reach a friendly mediation with Mr. Wu, brought milk to his home. The on-site communication process was friendly, and there was no threat or implication of extortion."
In this regard, Lawyer Jiang Zhenxiang, director of Guizhou Jiuyan Law Firm, said in an interview with Cover News that even if both parties have a labor dispute, it should be resolved through legal channels such as labor arbitration and litigation. "If there is behavior that harasses family members, it is neither reasonable nor in line with legal provisions."
It is worth noting that the netizen joined a directly-operated store of Yidiandian, which is directly run by the brand. Yidiandian's operating entity is Shenggen Catering Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shenggen Catering"). Tianyancha shows that Shenggen Catering had only 2 people enrolled in social insurance in 2025 and is involved in more than 500 judicial cases. In sharp contrast, Yidiandian's store count is as high as approximately 5,600.
This is not an isolated case. On June 23, China Food Safety Network reported that during a nationwide online catering food safety survey, it found that "Yidiandian" milk tea stores arbitrarily altered food ingredient expiration labels and continued to use overnight expired ingredients. (Caption: Overnight mango ingredients with altered expiration dates. Source: China Food Safety Network)
During the survey, multiple "Yidiandian" milk tea stores were also found to have numerous food safety problems. They used tea leaves with no manufacturer, no production date and no shelf life — once expired or if raw material quality problems arise, without labels it is completely impossible to trace responsibility. Subsequently, Yidiandian issued an apology and rectification statement, saying it immediately suspended the store involved (Wenling Zeguo store) and launched nationwide store audits.
In addition to food safety issues, in February this year, "Yidiandian" was also caught in a public opinion storm over a public welfare assistance post. According to Jinyang Evening News, Yidiandian's official account recently posted an article saying that staff renovated a room for a boy in Changsha and gave him a brand-new desk to help improve his learning environment. However, after the post was published, it raised doubts from multiple parties: some netizens pointed out that the smart watch worn by the boy in the accompanying photo might be worth up to a thousand yuan.
From doubts triggered by public welfare assistance to controversies in food safety and labor disputes, although the problems are different, they all point to the same question: when the public asks, can Yidiandian provide facts and actions more convincing than a statement?
Can going overseas become a new growth engine?
Yidiandian was founded in 2011 and is a representative brand of Taiwanese-style milk tea, once becoming the "queue king" in the milk tea industry. However, with the rise of new tea beverage brands such as Heytea, Nayuki Tea, and Guming, Yidiandian's market share has gradually been eroded. In 2021, Yidiandian's store count once exceeded 4,000, but by December 2023 only about 3,000 remained. There were even rumors that Yidiandian was "going out of business."
While Yidiandian was in a trough, its peers were expanding wildly. In April 2023, Chabaidao and Guming already had around 7,000 stores, and Shanghai Auntie also had nearly 6,000 stores. While store counts climbed, they were also pushing toward the scale of ten thousand stores.
Food and catering industry analyst Lin Yue said in an interview with Red Star News that Yidiandian's decline in recent years is not only related to frequent food safety problems but also has a lot to do with brand aging. Its original Taiwanese milk tea label has been diluted, product innovation is weak, brand positioning is vague, and packaging is plain. Relying on nostalgic sentiment cannot drive consumption, and it has no competitiveness among rivals at the same price point such as Guming, let alone compete with Mixue Bingcheng's extreme cost-effectiveness.
Yidiandian launched only 2 new products in 2021, increased to 6 in 2022, and only basically achieved monthly new launches in 2023. However, according to the "China Freshly Made Beverage Database Series Report" released in 2023, nearly 50 leading freshly made tea beverage brands launched an average of 3.3 new products per brand per month.
Since 2024, Yidiandian has accelerated its pace of store openings. Data from Zhaomen Canyan shows that Yidiandian opened more than 1,000 stores in 2025, and has opened more than 1,500 stores so far in 2026. As of September 24, Yidiandian's store count reached 5,598, but compared with other leading tea beverage brands, there is still a certain gap. According to Zhaomen Canyan data, Mixue Bingcheng's store count has exceeded 40,000, while Guming and Shanghai Auntie both exceed 10,000.
From an industry perspective, the chain tea beverage industry has also entered a stage of stock competition. According to the "Regional Tea Beverage Research Report 2026" by Hongcan Industry Research Institute, the national freshly made tea beverage market size in 2025 was 195.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.4%; in 2026 it is expected to reach 210 billion yuan, with the year-on-year growth rate further declining to 7.3%. Compared with historical data, the industry growth rate has gradually stepped down from the peak of 24.9% in 2021 and the recovery high growth of 19.3% in 2023 to a single-digit range.
Facing the dilemma, Yidiandian has set its sights on going overseas. In March this year, Yidiandian announced its 2026 overseas city cooperation plan on its official website. However, whether seeking growth overseas can succeed still needs further observation.
From accelerating domestic expansion to planning to go overseas, Yidiandian is looking for new growth space. But the expansion of store scale also means higher management requirements. If food safety and employment standards cannot be implemented in every store, expansion may amplify problems rather than solve them. For Yidiandian, the test in the next stage is not just how many more stores it can open, but whether it can manage every store well.
Sina statement: This news is reprinted from Sina's cooperative media. Sina publishes this article for the purpose of conveying more information and does not mean it agrees with its views or confirms its description. The article content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors operate at their own risk based on this information.
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