What’s HEYTEA
Founded in 2016, HEYTEA is a Chinese bubble tea chain brand which has received widespread popularity among young people. According to the “2019 China’s Most Popular Tea and Beverage Brands Top 30″ report released by NCBD, the popularity index of HEYTEA reached 78.4 points, ranking 1st on the list.

On May 2, HEYTEA announced the official return of one of its most popular drinks “芝芝桃桃” (cream cheese and the peach), along with Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out blush and a limited edition makeup bag. The two further released an “Early Summer Peachy Makeup” campaign on Weibo, which was quickly followed by a heated discussion. By the end of the campaign, it has received 18 million views and 32,000 posts.
Why co-branding with HEYTEA?
Leveraging social media to solidify the young consumer market has always been a key strategy for HEYTEA. Its product promotion has always been highly dependent on word-of-mouth among consumers. HEYTEA-related content on social medias such as Weibo and WeChat is often published autonomously by millennial consumers, rather than being driven by celebrity endorsements or physical advertising. Therefore, co-branding with HEYTEA is aimed to help Fenty Beauty to gain consumers’ curiosity and attention among young generation. Even more, it will solve the marketing pain point of benefiting from “diverse” cultures in the Western market but not in China.
You might also like: https://valuechina.net/2020/05/04/in-depth-introduction-to-5-main-chinese-digital-platforms/ In-depth introduction to 5 main Chinese digital platforms

HEYTEA co-branding is not an exception
In fact, Fenty Beauty’s collaboration with HEYTEA is not an exception. Many fashion brands are realizing that partnering with brands such as fast food chains, household snacks or street drink brands is increasingly beneficial. Because such a marketing activity can bring closer the brand with customers, engage them more directly and thus explore the potential of a new market.
Last December, luxury fashion brand Alexander Wang co-branded with McDonald’s China to launch a limited edition picnic basket priced at RMB 5888 and 30,000 co-branded bags that were quickly snapped up. This year, co-branded shoes launched by Crocs and KFC , co-branded biscuits released by Supreme and Oreo’s were both beloved by Chinese consumers.

Finding space in a crowded retail market and capturing the attention of young consumers is the magic of co-branding. And crossing over to the food and beverage industry or coming up with other unexpected ideas is one of the shortcuts for fashion brands to further broaden their audience reach.
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