HeyTea
Operator of a Chinese tea franchise intended to provide unique beverages.
Restaurants and Bars
📍 Shenzhen, China
Founded 2013
Current Valuation
$9.3B
as of 2021-Q3
UNICORN
HeyTea pioneered China's premium fresh-tea category — cheese-foam and fruit teas at a price point well above the mass chains — and reached a RMB 60B (~$9.3B) valuation in a July 2021 round. It has since cut prices, opened to franchisees to expand faster, and repeatedly denied IPO plans, while rivals including Mixue, Guming and ChaPanda have listed in Hong Kong and reset the sector's valuation comparables.
Company Profile
Growth
Peak private mark of ~$9.3B set in July 2021; since then the company has cut prices, pivoted to franchising and repeatedly denied listing plans while its listed peers repriced the category
Last Round
Series D — $500M (Jul 2021)
Fundraising Status
Series D · $500M · 5y 1mo ago
privateTotal raised $578.61M
Latest Funding Round
| Round | Amount | Date | Lead Investor | Post-Money |
|---|
| Series D | $500M | Jul 2021 | — | $9.3B |
Founders & Key People
Nie Yunchen
Investors
Hillhouse Capital · Sequoia Capital China · Tencent · Black Ant Capital · CoStone Capital
Products
- Premium fresh-fruit tea and cheese-foam tea stores
- Bottled ready-to-drink tea
- Franchise ("business partner") store programme
- HEYTEA GO app and membership
Competitors
Mixue Group · Nayuki (Naixue) · Chagee · Guming · ChaPanda (Chabaidao) · Luckin Coffee
ConsumerFood & BeverageTea ChainRetailChina
Private-company numbers are not real-time. Reflects publicly disclosed valuations from press releases, news reports, and tender offers as of 2021-Q3. Refreshed quarterly.