Recently, the parent company of Tea Magician (茶颜悦色) has been intensively recruiting personnel in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. Market speculation suggests this signals Tea Magician's intention to enter and open stores in the North China, South China, and East China markets. On January 18, Tea Magician responded to Red Star Capital Bureau, stating this is a routine personnel reserve, and any new store opening plans will be shared via the brand's official social media accounts.
Founded in 2013, Tea Magician, as a pioneer in the new tea beverage industry, has adopted a very "laid-back" approach to external expansion. To date, it only operates in 4 provinces with just over 700 active stores. Meanwhile, the competitive landscape in the new tea drink sector has drastically changed: competitors like Mixue Group (02097.HK) and GUMING (01364.HK) have already reached scales of tens of thousands of stores, while leading brands such as Chagee Holdings Limited (CHA.US) and CHABAIDAO (02555.HK) have completed their IPOs and embarked on global expansion leveraging capital.
Job postings on the recruitment platform BOSS Zhipin show that the parent company, Hunan Chayue Cultural Industry Development Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Chayue Culture"), has listed multiple positions in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. Judging by the job responsibilities, the positions available in Shanghai lean towards branding, content, and marketing. For instance, they are recruiting a Content Lead with a monthly salary of 40,000-45,000 yuan, a Brand Lead for 40,000-60,000 yuan, a Marketing Lead for 45,000-75,000 yuan, and a Membership System Architect for 50,000-60,000 yuan.
The positions in Beijing are more technical-oriented, recruiting Data Product Managers with monthly salaries ranging from 15,000 to 60,000 yuan, focusing on areas like inventory planning, data metrics, and intelligent supply chain replenishment. Furthermore, in Shenzhen, Tea Magician is offering a monthly salary of 20,000-28,000 yuan to hire a Shenzhen Warehouse Manager, with details noting that the candidate will train in Changsha for 3-6 months before assuming the role in Shenzhen.
These recruitment activities in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai have sparked market conjecture, with some voices interpreting them as a precursor to Tea Magician opening stores in the North China, South China, and East China markets. On January 18, Tea Magician responded to Red Star Capital Bureau, clarifying that this constitutes routine personnel reserves, and any new store plans will be communicated officially.
It is worth noting that on January 5, Nanjing Chayue Niwo Catering Management Co., Ltd. established a branch in Shanghai. Tianyancha data shows its business scope involves catering services, online food sales, food sales, catering management, and corporate headquarters management. Tracing the equity reveals this company is wholly owned by Chayue Culture.
Some netizens speculated that Tea Magician might be planning to set up stores in Shanghai. However, according to a Xiaoxiang Morning Post report, a relevant负责人 from Tea Magician responded that this is actually a creative studio the brand plans to establish in Shanghai, aiming to attract professional talent and gain creative inspiration. They stated there are currently no concrete plans to open physical stores in Shanghai.
As an industry pioneer, Tea Magician has expanded slowly, while competitors have opened ten times the number of stores. Founded in 2013, Tea Magician pioneered the "Guo Feng" (National Style) milk tea concept and once led industry trends. Between 2018 and 2021, it successively received four rounds of funding from institutions like Tiantu Investment and Source Code Capital. Despite this capital favor, Tea Magician's external expansion has been remarkably cautious. While peers rapidly expanded with capital, Tea Magician only ventured outside Changsha in 2020, opening its first store in Changde; in December of the same year, it opened its first store outside Hunan province in Wuhan; and expanded to Chongqing Municipality and Jiangsu Province in 2022. Data from Narrow Door Meal Eye shows that, to date, Tea Magician operates 758 stores, covering over 30 cities across 4 provinces. In 2025, it opened fewer than 200 new stores.
In contrast, Chagee, which also focuses on the national trend theme and fresh milk tea products, currently operates 7,002 stores, approximately ten times the number of Tea Magician's stores. Chagee opened over 1,000 new stores in 2025, about five times Tea Magician's number. Later entrants like "Grandpa Not Brewing Tea" (爷爷不泡茶) and "Tea Talk Fun" (茶话弄) are also accelerating their expansion. Official websites show Grandpa Not Brewing Tea has surpassed 2,000 stores, and Tea Talk Fun is nearing 1,000 stores.
In August 2024, Tea Magician explained to Red Star Capital Bureau that its direct-operated model inherently leads to slower expansion, coupled with longer employee training cycles, preventing rapid store openings. Furthermore, according to a 21st Century Business Report, founder Lü Liang stated that delayed expansion was due to being "timid," with deeper reasons lying in the time needed to build organizational strength and refine the supply chain and infrastructure. Chain operation expert Li Weihua believes Tea Magician's slow expansion is due to its direct-operation model and the founder's significant concerns about external expansion, worrying about product quality and raw material supply. A previous unsuccessful experience with a pop-up store in Shenzhen that later closed also contributed to the cautious pace.
Red Star Capital Bureau noted that the recent recruitment in Beijing and Shanghai includes several supply-chain-related positions. Detailed requirements mention responsibilities like "overseeing overall supply chain inventory operations for Tea Magician and its sub-brands, improving inventory health metrics," and "proposing improvements, optimizations, and upgrades for systems and business processes based on Tea Magician's operational needs." This suggests a strategic effort to strengthen supply chain efficiency through human resource allocation.
The tea beverage赛道 has already undergone a sea change; how will Tea Magician break through? Red Star Capital Bureau noted that since 2023, market rumors have repeatedly suggested Tea Magician is planning an IPO, with speculated listing venues switching between Hong Kong and US stock markets, although Tea Magician has not publicly commented on these rumors. While remaining cautious about expansion and迟迟未启动上市, capital has chosen to exit. In June 2024, five well-known investment institutions, including Tiantu, Shunwei, Source Code, Genesis, and 5Y Capital, simultaneously exited the shareholder lineup. Consequently, Tea Magician's equity structure largely returned to control by the founder team.
Tea Magician is also attempting to build a second growth curve, for example, by expanding into retail, launching snack foods and cultural creative products, and incubating sub-brands like "Yuan Yang Coffee" (鸳央咖啡) and "Good墨柠" (古德墨柠). However, these ventures currently operate only within Changsha. In July 2025, Tea Magician announced an overseas foray, but not for selling bubble tea; instead, it sells nearly 40 types of snacks, tea sets, and peripheral cultural products on various e-commerce platforms.
Just as Tea Magician strives to develop its "sidelines," the competitive landscape of the new tea drink赛道 has fundamentally "changed." Red Star Capital Bureau observes that, unlike Tea Magician's direct-operation model, competitors generally adopt a franchise model to achieve rapid store network expansion. To date, both Mixue Group and GUMING have reached the ten-thousand-store level. Furthermore, leading brands like NAYUKI (02150.HK), CHABAIDAO, GUMING, Chagee, and Mixue Group have all completed their IPOs and initiated global expansion leveraging capital. Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce industry competition, how to break through its瓶颈 has become a critical challenge Tea Magician must currently solve.
