Recently, the assessment of the value of public tea brands in 2016 was publicized officially. Pubuxianming, a brand of Yuyao, ranked 70th with a brand value of 0.87bn yuan. Following closely behind was the tea brand Wanghaicha worth 0.791bn yuan. However, considering that they've ever both made it into the top 40, the result turned out to be a drastic plummet.
Ningbo's tea industry has been troubled with the lack of renowned brands. So what on earth has impeded the growth of local tea brands? How to develop local tea business?
Pubuxianming, a brand worth 0.87bn yuan
Since 2000, a new type of branding featuring public regional brands gained popularity in agriculture, of which the tea business is the most representative.
The assessment of Chinese public regional tea brands are carried out by the Center for China Agricultural Brands of Zhejiang University, based on the CARD model. Released every year, its result has been a faithful reflection of Chinese tea business since it was initiated 6 years ago.
Since December of 2015, the research group has shortlisted 108 brands from a number of eligible brands in mainland China. Afterwards, through multiple ways including literature review, investigation of experts, and consumer feedbacks, 92 brands were properly assessed, of which Tieguanyin, the tea band in Anxi worth 6.004bn yuan topped the list.
However, Pubuxianming, the brand of Ningbo, ranked only 70th with a brand value of 0.87bn yuan, followed by another local brand Wanghaicha worth 0.791bn yuan.
Since June of 2002 when Pubuxianming became the first brand in Ningbo with geographical indications, its price can reach over 1000 yuan per kilogram, which not only contributed to an increase of over 6 million yuan in local collective economy but also raised the average income of local famers to nearly 15,000 yuan. In contrast, the same tea was only sold at 120 yuan per kilo before, and the income of famers then averaged less than 10,000 yuan.
Ningbo's tea brands are diversified yet weak
Tea plantations in Ningbo cover 220,000mu in total with annual yields exceeding 2000 tons worth over 0.8bn yuan. But compared with other regions that cultivate tea, Ningbo faces quite a few problems in the general development of its tea business, especially in its cultivation of competitive brands. There are more public brands run by local governments but fewer brands created by enterprises. Besides, most tea exporters are actually OEMs, while only a select few have self-owned brands. All those have long hindered the development of local tea brands.
According to information from the department of forestry, currently Ningbo owns about 2700 tea marketing firms with over 300 tea brands. However, in terms of their reputation, only 8 major brands including Wanghaicha, Yinxuexuebaicha, Fenghuaquhao and Pubuxianming have made their names known to the locals.
The brands of Ningbo regard local market as their main battleground, so the competition is so fierce that tea firms reap quite thin margins. Teeming with small businesses struggling alone, the tea market in Ningbo, though large, lacks competitiveness, which calls for a leading brand with influence, said an official of the Municipal Forestry Bureau.
Some famers are weak and short-sighted without much knowledge of branding, their sales unregulated. And large enterprises, though valuing branding, lack publicity and sophisticated systems of quality control, said Wang Kairong, an expert in tea from Ningbo.
The merging of brands is an irresistible trend
Cheng Qikun, member of China International Tea Culture Institute, has proposed in a symposium about the development of tea brands held in Ningbo that to achieve progress in the output of local tea business, we should focus on fostering influential local tea brands. And a sound policy would be to merge the existing brands, so that with a united force the clout of Ningbo tea can be enhanced.
He added that plenty of brands in areas of Zhejiang had already engaged in it, like the Lishuxiangcha in Lishui, the Anjibaicha in Anji, the Longding in Kaihua, etc. And they made conspicuous progress, with output and sales as well as market influence all rising. So indeed, the merging of brands has become an irresistible trend.
Actually, early in 2012, Ningbo's tea industry has embarked on the development of a united brand, namely, Mingzhouxianming, to pool the resources. To be united under the brand of Mingzhouxianming does not mean that other local brands will be replaced, rather, it intends to encourage solidarity among local brands of green tea, transform their backward production pattern, and improve their industrialization, so as to create an influential brand with joint efforts, said an official of the Mingzhouxianming Tea Cooperative.
In May, Ningbo founded the Tea Marketing Association, in order to expedite the promotion of Mingzhouxianming while also effecting the strategy that each county should fosters a local brand. Besides, it aspired to guide the adjustment of the industrial structure and the production of tea business. In suitable place, it also sought to combine tea production, processing, sightseeing, health restoration and entertainment in pursuit of a new model for the development of Ningbo's tea business.
Asia, Australia & Oceanic Stories
23/04/2024
Social entrepreneur Hedayat Osyan wins Les Murray Award for Refugee Recognition
23 April, 2024
Media releases
The prestigious award is now in its third yea...
22/04/2024
SBS marks Earth Day with Australian TV milestone as The Cook Up with Adam Liaw b...
18/04/2024
Alone Australia goes from strength to strength
18 April, 2024
Media releases
The program again delivers for SBS with significant uplifts in digital BVOD vi...
18/04/2024
18 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Dynamic Television announce new Scripted Initiative
Savage River
Screen Australia and Los Angeles-based telev...
16/04/2024
ABS Agility Beyond Space announces Appointment of Mark Rigolle as its Chief Ex...
11/04/2024
Alone Australia Ep 2 reaches over 1m Australians
11 April, 2024
Media releases
The program continues to consistently grow week-on-week in linear audience w...
11/04/2024
11 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Meta launch fourth year of First...
10/04/2024
10 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $2.3 million for nine documentaries
Guardians of the River
Screen Australia has announced nine doc...
09/04/2024
Groundbreaking NITV documentary series Our Law expands across Australia from Thu...
09/04/2024
Techtel, the creators of inflo, today announced that a new speech to text transcription engine from openai called Whisper, is available to inflo customers who a...
04/04/2024
Manu Feildel, Miranda Otto and Pat Rafter join life-changing new season of Who D...
04/04/2024
Alone Australia season 2 continues to redefine Australian TV viewing through on-...
27/03/2024
Living Black, the longest-running Indigenous current affairs television program ...
26/03/2024
Crime is relative in SBS's new Canneseries nominated crime-family drama with...
25/03/2024
SBS gears up for Season 2 of Alone Australia with the creation of Alone Cologne...
22/03/2024
SBS Learn partners with the Islamic Museum of Australia to support classrooms in...
21/03/2024
21 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $1.6 million in support of the games industry
Which Way Up: Galaxy Games
Screen Australia has anno...
18/03/2024
18 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and VicScreen launch new Screen Careers initiative
LTR Denise Eriksen, Esther Coleman Hawkins, Caroline Pitcher, K...
15/03/2024
15 03 2024 - Media release The Creators 2024 Participants Announced
The Creators program recipients. L-R Thomas Duncan-Watt, Vanessa Gazy, Sarah Lambert, Lea...
14/03/2024
SBS to mark Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr with all Australians
14 March, 2024
Media releases
Content in 22 languages*, a collection of movies to stream free on d...
14/03/2024
March 14,2024
-- KDDI Corporation
KDDI Corporation resolved at a meeting of the Board of Directors held today to change (newly appointed, retire) a director ...
13/03/2024
13 03 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces dramas Critical Incident and Sunny Nights for Stan
Critical Incident: Akshay Khanna and Zoe Boe. Photo c...
07/03/2024
Explore the afterlife with SBS podcast Grave Matters'
6 March, 2024
Media releases
Most of us are woefully unprepared for one of life's few certai...
06/03/2024
Multi-award winning electronic music duo to represent Australia at this year'...
06/03/2024
Developing Lunar 3GPP Mobile Network Technologies for Moon Exploration
GITA...
04/03/2024
SBS announces new development fund to discover Australia's biggest and riski...
28/02/2024
Yumi Stynes returns for season two of SBS podcast SEEN'
26 February, 2024
Media releases
Eight new trailblazers join feminist Australian icon Yumi Sty...
28/02/2024
28 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $810,000 in development funding for 29 projects
Willy
Screen Australia has announced 23 feature fi...
27/02/2024
27 02 2024 - Media release Michael Ebeid AM appointed as new Screen Australia Chair
Michael Ebeid AM and Megan Brownlow
The Hon. Minister for the Arts, Tony...
26/02/2024
Supporting AFEELAs entertainment experience and global launch with a communicati...
21/02/2024
21 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and Australians in Film Announce App...
21/02/2024
Aiming to deliver new video-related solutions utilizing 5G SA this year
Son...
21/02/2024
Support the team with gifts while enjoying AR games in the stadium
KDDI COR...
21/02/2024
KDDI CORPORATION
February 21,2024
-- Tokyo, February 21, 2024 From February 2...
20/02/2024
KDDI CORPORATION
February 20,2024
-- KDDI announces that its consolidated subsidiary, SORACOM, INC. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Ken Tamagawa, herei...
15/02/2024
Alone Australia Season 2 Returns 27 March | Meet the Cast
15 February, 2024
Media releases
Smash hit series Alone Australia returns Wednesday 27 March on S...
15/02/2024
NITV's flagship footy show Over the Black Dot returns Tuesday 5 March, live ...
15/02/2024
15 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces over $560,000 for crew and gamemaker skills programs
Liz Keogh Palmer (Australian Production Design Guil...
13/02/2024
2024 is a landmark year for SBS's award-winning current affairs line-up, cov...
13/02/2024
22 01 2024 - Media release Six Australian projects bound for South by Southwest Festival in the US
Audrey, Birdeater, The Moogai
Six Australian screen projec...
12/02/2024
12 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and YouTube Australia Launch Skip Ahead 9
Uncovering Street Dance: Australia from Skip Ahead 8. Photographed by Ry...
08/02/2024
08 02 2024 - Media release Screen Australia and ABC announce Bay of Fires is back for season two
Marta Dusseldorp as Stella in Bay of Fires
ABC, Screen Austr...
07/02/2024
4 in 10 Australians battling sleep issues as nation's sleep crisis grows
7 February, 2024
Media releases
Dr Michael Mosley and the sleep scientists fro...
06/02/2024
Six screen creatives selected for the 2024 SBS Emerging Writers' Incubator i...
02/02/2024
SBS Scripted TV Lunch sessions return for another year of connecting with creati...
02/02/2024
February 2,2024
-- KDDI Corporation
KDDI announced the financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2024.
Summary In the third q...
31/01/2024
Filming Begins on SBS' Romantic Original Drama Four Years Later' in Ind...
30/01/2024
A stellar 2024 for SBS podcasts kicks off with The SBS Book Club' and Huma...
29/01/2024
The host with the most, Adam Liaw, is back with an all new inviting season of Th...
Recently, the assessment of the value of public tea brands in 2016 was publicized officially. Pubuxianming, a brand of Yuyao, ranked 70th with a brand value of 0.87bn yuan. Following closely behind was the tea brand Wanghaicha worth 0.791bn yuan. However, considering that they've ever both made it into the top 40, the result turned out to be a drastic plummet.
