7 Ways the Tea Industry Can Attract the Next G. of Tea Drinkers

As time brings change to every aspect of our lives, we also see major cultural shifts and generational trends. With this, certain industries need to change, adapt or grow with the times to maintain a consumer base – especially to attract a new customer base.

随着时间的推移，我们生活的方方面面都发生了变化，我们也看到了重大的文化转变和代际趋势。因此，某些行业需要与时俱进地改变、适应或发展，以保持消费者基础，尤其是吸引新的客户基础。

Indeed, the tea industry isn’t different when it comes to attracting a new generation of consumers (i.e. tea drinkers) who are entering the market for the very first time.

事实上，在吸引第一次进入市场的新一代消费者（即饮茶者）方面，茶产业并无不同。

So, what should the tea industry do to attract this next generation of tea drinkers? Here are seven important tips to point you in the right direction.

那么，茶业应该做些什么来吸引下一代饮茶者呢？这里有七个重要的提示，可以为你指明正确的方向。

Modernize Marketing 营销现代化

1. Utilize Pop Culture – Tea is heavily rooted in tradition. However, as each new generation comes into its own in society, times change. Pop culture has a huge influence on how society is shaped and formed, and to attract a new generation of tea drinks, utilizing pop culture to appeal to a new audience is a mark that is often missed. While there should always be room to appreciate where tea comes from, there should be a balance between respecting the art of tea and being reflective of the current times. Tea companies like white2tea, which primarily sell sheng and shou pu’er tea, have package designs that feature lyrics from rappers, including Drake and Frank Ocean. With this, White2Tea has attracted a new base of younger tea drinkers who were originally attracted to their packaging design, that wouldn’t have otherwise.

1.利用流行文化——茶深深植根于传统。然而，随着社会上每一代新生代的出现，时代在改变。流行文化对社会的形成和形成有着巨大的影响，为了吸引新一代的茶饮料，利用流行文化吸引新的受众是一个经常被忽视的标志。虽然应该有足够的空间来欣赏茶的来源，但应该在尊重茶的艺术和反映当今时代之间保持平衡。像white2tea这样的茶业公司，主要销售盛茶和寿普洱茶，他们的包装设计以包括Drake和Frank Ocean在内的说唱歌手的歌词为特色。有了这一点，White2Tea吸引了一批年轻的饮茶者，他们最初是被自己的包装设计所吸引的，否则是不会有这种吸引力的。

2. Align with Social Issues That Matter to a Younger Generation – With each new generation comes a new social issue that’s specific to or of interest to a specific generation. Social causes for older generations may have included freeing Tibet, Vietnam or the fall of The Berlin Wall, among many others. For Millennials and Generation Z, one of the biggest social issues is Black Lives Matter. A lot of incredible social change has progressed with the Black Lives Movement, and one very important cause that ricocheted from Black Lives Matter is fair trade and transparency. Many tea companies have posted photos of the heads of their companies with the farmers they source from, but that doesn’t seem to end there with the newer generations. Newer tea drinkers want more than a photo-op – they need even more proof that they’re drinking tea from someone who is treated fairly.

2.与年轻一代关心的社会问题保持一致——每一代人都会遇到一个特定于特定一代人或特定一代感兴趣的新社会问题。老一辈人的社会原因可能包括解放西藏、越南或柏林墙倒塌等。对于千禧一代和Z一代来说，最大的社会问题之一是黑人生活问题。随着黑人生活运动的开展，社会发生了许多令人难以置信的变化，公平贸易和透明度是黑人生活问题引发的一个非常重要的原因。许多茶叶公司都发布了公司负责人与他们来源的农民的照片，但这似乎在新一代人中还没有结束。新喝茶的人想要的不仅仅是拍照——他们甚至需要更多的证据来证明他们喝茶的是受到公平对待的人。

Make High Quality Teas More Accessible Locally

让高品质的茶叶更容易在当地买到

3. Go Local – For late Baby Boomers and early Millennials, a go-to and easily accessible place for tasty tea was the now closed Teavana stores. However, for many people who are late-Millennials and Generation Z, Teavana was already a thing of the past. For many people in the western market, easy accessibility to great tea shops is something that doesn't really exist anymore (yes, there are many brick-and-mortar tea shops around the country, but not easily accessible to all). With the exception of DAVIDsTEA outlets across Canada, there’s not a major, recognizable go-to retail outlet for casual tea drinkers to go to. This is where accessibility comes in. Many coffee shops and cafes are offering a wider variety of loose-leaf teas, with easy and accessible menu options. For café and shop owners of all kinds, offering a variety of teas while keeping it simple will make tea more accessible for all. These businesses that aren’t offering tea should seriously consider it. It can help the local business and the growth of tea overall. Perhaps tea suppliers can connect with these businesses (many are already going this route, but more could be done) to educate them about the wonders of tea and to encourage that these businesses either serve tea or have tea products available.

3.本地化——对于婴儿潮后期出生的人和千禧一代早期的人来说，现在关闭的Teavana商店是品尝美味茶的好去处。然而，对于许多千禧一代和Z一代晚期的人来说，Teavana已经成为过去。对于西方市场上的许多人来说，很容易就可以进入很棒的茶馆已经不复存在了（是的，全国有很多实体茶馆，但并非所有人都能轻易进入）。除了加拿大各地的DAVIDsTEA门店外，没有一家大型、知名的零售店可供休闲饮茶者前往。这就是无障碍的原因。许多咖啡店和咖啡馆都提供种类繁多的活叶茶，菜单选择简单易行。对于各种咖啡馆和商店老板来说，提供各种各样的茶，同时保持简单，将使所有人都能更容易地享用茶。这些不提供茶叶的企业应该认真考虑。它可以帮助当地的商业和茶叶的整体增长。也许茶叶供应商可以与这些企业联系起来（许多企业已经走上了这条路，但还可以做更多），让他们了解茶叶的神奇之处，并鼓励这些企业要么提供茶叶，要么提供茶叶产品。

4. Don’t Be Slow to Adopt What’s Trending with Tea – Across social media, the attention diverted to Starbucks Japan and Starbucks Korea have exploded in web popularity among Millennials and Generation Z within the western market. With this, floral drinks (which typically involve jasmine) and fruity tea lattes have quickly caught the attention of new tea drinkers. For the U.S. tea market, we can use Starbucks Japan and Starbucks Korea as examples of how a company can change quickly with the market and apart to trends to gain attention. Many cafes and tea companies in the west are slow to change, and they often release products 10 years after they initially boomed with popularity in the market. Drinks that were popular in mom-and-pop shops a decade ago have finally made their way to larger tea corporations now. If the industry wants to change with the times, they have to change now. As an example, many in the tea industry are slow to warm up to boba or bubble tea, as well as the opportunity that provides to educate young consumers about high-quality tea.

4.不要迟疑采用茶的流行趋势——在社交媒体上，转移到星巴克日本和星巴克韩国的注意力在西方市场上的千禧一代和Z一代的网络人气激增。因此，花饮料（通常包括茉莉花）和水果茶拿铁很快就引起了新茶客的注意。对于美国茶叶市场，我们可以以日本星巴克和韩国星巴克为例，说明一家公司如何随着市场快速变化，并根据趋势获得关注。西方的许多咖啡馆和茶业公司变化缓慢，通常在最初因市场流行而繁荣十年后才推出产品。十年前流行于夫妻店的饮料如今终于进入了大型茶叶公司。如果行业想与时俱进，就必须现在改变。例如，茶叶行业的许多人对波巴茶或泡泡茶的热情很低，也没有机会向年轻消费者提供优质茶的教育。

5. Consider Price – Affordability makes a huge difference with accessibility for a certain demographic that can afford luxury items or not. When attracting a newer generation of tea drinkers, companies have to be mindful of where the economy is at. For previous generations, owning a home with a $60,000-a-year income was attainable. Today, that $60,000-a-year income is considered the poverty line for nearly every major city in North America. Many Millennials and Generation Z can't even afford a home with a six-figure income in most major (and expensive) U.S. cities. As income inequality becomes a larger issue within the west, making good tea affordable is imperative to attracting a new base. Affordability doesn't necessarily equate to sacrificing quality in tea. However, pricing out the newer generations of tea drinkers with $15 to $20 for an ounce of quality tea will sacrifice the tea drinker itself to the entire market. Something to consider if you’re looking at ways to reach a new, younger audience base.

5.考虑价格——对于能够买得起奢侈品或买不起奢侈品的特定人群来说，可承受性与可访问性之间存在巨大差异。在吸引新一代饮茶者时，公司必须注意经济形势。对于前几代人来说，拥有年收入60万美元的房子是可以实现的。如今，每年60万美元的收入被视为北美几乎所有主要城市的贫困线。许多千禧一代和Z一代在美国大多数主要（和昂贵）城市甚至买不起收入六位数的房子。随着收入不平等在西方成为一个更大的问题，让人们买得起好茶对于吸引一个新的基地至关重要。可承受性并不一定等于牺牲茶叶的质量。然而，以每盎司优质茶15至20美元的价格将新一代饮茶者拒之门外，这将牺牲饮茶者自身对整个市场的贡献。如果你正在寻找接触新的、年轻的观众群的方法，你需要考虑一些问题。

Attracting the Next Generation of Tea Drinkers

吸引新一代茶饮者

Social Media 社会化媒体

6. Don’t Overlook TikTok (That Cannot Be Overstated) – TikTok has quickly risen to the top of the social media hierarchy – which is primarily driven by Millennials and Generation Z. TikTok has spread like wildfire and shifted how so many industries operate today. With this, the presence of tea and tea drinkers is very limited on TikTok. In fact, there are a small number of tea shops and bloggers who are openly creating content for TikTok, but there is still a huge untapped market of individuals who enjoy tea and who can be reached through TikTok. The tea industry can no longer ignore it. Related: Read this World Tea News article about increasing tea sales via TikTok.

6.不要忽视TikTok（这不能被夸大）——TikTokTok已经迅速上升到社交媒体层级的顶端，这主要是由千禧一代和Z一代推动的。因此，茶和饮茶者在TikTok的存在非常有限。事实上，有少数茶馆和博客公开为TikTok创建内容，但仍有一个巨大的未开发市场，那里的人喜欢喝茶，可以通过TikTok联系到他们。茶业再也不能忽视它了。相关：阅读《世界茶叶新闻》关于通过TikTok增加茶叶销量的文章。

7. Look at Short-Form Videos for a Wider Reach – As TikTok has been prevalent in the realm of social media, other social media platforms are quickly changing to accommodate users who are leaving their platforms to join TikTok. Instagram and YouTube have both been pushing reels on their platforms and are quickly changing their algorithms to push short-form videos to the forefront. While TikTok is taking the lead for short-form videos, it shouldn’t mean that trends and short-form videos should take a backseat as well. The wider the reach you have, the better!

7.关注更广范围的短格式视频–随着TikTok在社交媒体领域的流行，其他社交媒体平台正在迅速改变，以适应离开其平台加入TikTok的用户。Instagram和YouTube都在各自的平台上推出了视频片断，并正在迅速改变算法，将短格式视频推向最前沿。虽然TikTok在短格式视频方面处于领先地位，但这并不意味着趋势和短格式视频也应该处于次要地位。你的触角越宽越好！

The Tea Industry Will Be Relying on the Next Generation

茶业将依赖下一代

Overall, there’s a new generation of consumers waiting to discover the amazing word of tea and all the exciting businesses in the global tea industry. Certainly, as the tea industry continues to expand into the future, we’ll all be relying on newer generations of tea drinkers to take the torch and keep the world of tea alive for long after we’re gone. Of course, as tea is one of the oldest industries in human civilization, it’s still brand new to many people today.

总的来说，新一代的消费者正等待着发现茶的神奇词汇，以及全球茶产业中所有令人兴奋的业务。当然，随着茶产业在未来的持续扩张，我们都将依赖新一代饮茶者来接过火炬，在我们离开后让茶世界继续存在下去。当然，由于茶叶是人类文明中最古老的产业之一，它对今天的许多人来说仍然是全新的。

In the end, it’s imperative that the tea industry change with the times, listen with both ears, and continue to grow. For the new generations of tea leaders, it is important to set them up for success to carry on the legacy of tea for many more years to come.

最后，茶叶行业必须与时俱进，双耳倾听，继续发展。对于新一代茶叶领导人来说，重要的是要让他们在未来的许多年里继续传承茶叶的传统，以取得成功。