Buttoday,betweentheglossyfacades,IdiscoveracrowdofpeopleinalinethatlooksmorelikeasceneinfrontofapopularnightcluborthelaunchofthelatestiPhone.
Here,onlyafewmetersawayfromBeijing’sflagshipApplestore,anestimated50peoplehaveneatlyqueuedup.Theoperatorsofthemallseemtohavebeenexpectingthecrowd.Anemployeeofthein-housesecuritywasspeciallyassignedtodirectthosewaitinginacontrolledmanner.
MyChinesecompanionenlightensme:theyoungstersarenotwaitingforthelatesttechnicalgadget,butfortakeawaytea!
Morethananhour’swaitforteaservedinaplasticcup?MyChinesefriend,seeminglyunimpressed,shrugshershoulders.Afterall,itisnotjustanyteashop,butthefamousHEYTEA,(喜茶)anonlinecelebrityamongChina’sbeveragestands,sheexplains.
Waitaminute:IwaswellawarethattheInternetproducesitsownstarsandstarlets,buttowitnesssnackbarsservingteaas“Internetfamous”issomethingunheardoftome.Minute0–IntotheQueue
WhatissospecialaboutarestaurantlikeHEYTEA,forwhichpeopleherearewillingtosacrificealargepartoftheirfreeSaturdayafternoon?Mycuriosityisaroused,andI’munabletoresisttheprimalpullofhumancuriosity;Icaveinandgetinlinefortea,forresearchpurposesofcourse.
HEYTEAisjustoneoftherestaurantscurrentlyleadingtosimilarscenesinChineseshoppingcentersaroundthecountry.Inrecentyears,anumberofsuchtrendyshopshaveflourishedinChina.TheirsuccessiscloselylinkedtotheInternetandnewmedia.ThehypesurroundingthemimpressivelyproveshowsocialmediaandtheWorldWideWebarerapidlychangingChina’sgastronomybusinessaswellasadvertisingmodels.
Minute10–TheFirstMetersAreDone
Thequeueonlymovesslowlyforward,butmyChinesecomrades-inarmsarepatientandpassthetimeplayingwiththeirsmartphones.IstarttobrowsethewebformoreinformationabouttheotheronlinestarsinChina’sgastronomicfield,andI’mlearningthatthere’sevenanewtermforthephenomenon:wanghongdian(網紅店).
Spicy,stuffedpancakesofthebrandYangwang-Baojiaobu(仰望包角布)andAdascallionpancakes(阿大蔥油餅),bothfromShanghai,Beijing’sMasterBao’sPastry(鮑師傅糕點)orteadrinksfromtheGuangdong-basedcompanyHEYTEA–thelistofcreativeChinesesnacksuppliers,whoareopeningbranchesinmoreandmorecitiesandenjoyinghugepopularityamongcustomers,isgettingquitelong.
AndtherearealsomanytrendynewrestaurantsinChina’sbigmetropolisesbeyondsuchchains,whereyousometimeshavetowaitinlineforhourstogetatable.
Whatalltheseshopshaveincommonisthattheyowetheirsuccessnottoclassicadvertisingorcustomerloyaltybuiltupovermanyyears,buttocreativeexperimentswithfoodproductswhichtheyskillfullymarketusingnewpossibilitiesaffordedbytheInternet.
Minute30–FirstSignsofFatigue
Afterhalfanhourofstandinginqueue,IfinallytakethefirstcurvealongtheouterfacadeoftheSanlitunHEYTEAstore.Theordercounterisalreadyinsightnowandafriendlywaitresshandsmethelistofbeveragestoallowmetomakemychoiceinadvance.
Theirso-called“cheesetea”ispraisedasabestseller.Teaandcheese–canthisblendwork?Ihavemydoubts.
Besides,thefirstsignsoffatigueseemtobebecomeclearlyvisible,asIfindmyselfrepeatedlyapproachedbyseveral“teascalpers.”ForanextraRMB30percup,aspertheirgenerousoffer,Icoulddowithoutfurtherqueuingandimmediatelyholdoneofthecultteasthattheresourcefulbusinessmenhadboughtinadvanceinmyhands.
MythroatisparchedyetIrefuse.Afterall,Iamnotonlylookingforchilledrefreshment,butalsoforanauthenticexperience.Afeelingofgroupsolidaritysetsin.
Minute45–FirstIndicationsofaBrewingExistentialCrisis
TimestretcheslikechewinggumandIwonderwhatsecretentrepreneurialingredientsarebehindagenuineonlinerestauranthit.Isitjustmuchadoaboutnothingoristheexperiencereallyworththequeuing?Ikeeponsearchingforcluesonline.
Firstofall,whatiscertainisthatabasicrequirementisacreativeproductwithrecognitionandenoughnoveltyvaluetomakearestaurantorasnackprovideranonlinestar.Withold-fashionedsteamedrolls,Gongbaochicken,orsweetspit-roastedsausage,youwon’twintheattentionofyoungChinesepeopleinthesedays.
MasterBao’sPastrybakerychainfromBeijing,forexample,hasasinfulspongecakeinfusedcaloriebombtothankforitshighprofileamongChinesefoodies.Theexperimentalfoodcreationisfilledwithplentyofcreamandiscoveredwithalushlayerofspicydriedbeefmeatwool.Themakerscallthiscreation“beeftreasures”(牛肉小貝).
Alternatively,theadditionofdriedseaweedturnsthesnackinto“noritreasures”(海苔小貝).Thesegourmetpiecesarereallyuniqueandarebestsellersinmanycities.Meanwhile,ShanghaisnacksupplierYangwang-BaojiaobuhascreativelyprimpedupaclassicamongChina’sstreetsnacks,Jianbing–thincrêpe-likepancakesthatareusuallypreparedwitheggs,sausage,crispfritter,freshcoriander,andaromaticsauce.
PicturesofthealternativeJianbingcreationsfromYangwang-Baojiaobuwithcrabfillingorcrispychickenschnitzelinsidequicklywentviralandmadetheonlinecommunity’smouthssalivate.
AndwhatdoesHEYTEAhavetooffer?Fortunately,the“cheesetea”oftheGuangdong-basedcompany,whichwasfoundedin2012,isnotawildtasteexperimentwithgreenteaandcamembert,asitturnsout.Thecheeselayerisinfactamassofcream,milk,sugar,andalittlebitofsalt,allwhippeduntilitiscreamy.ItismorereminiscentofthetasteofcheesecakeratherthanGaudaorEmmentaler.Themassisgivenastoppingonchilledteaofdifferentvarieties,whichcreatesacompletelynewteaexperience.
However,innovativedelicaciesalonearenotenoughtomakeittotheOlympusofonlinecelebritiesamongChina’srestaurants.Aswewellknow,foodnowisnotjustcaloricintake,butalsoasocialevent.
ThisisparticularlytrueintimesofnewmediaandthemobileInternet,wherethenumberofpeoplewhocanparticipateinthisexperiencehasvastlyincreased.Today,therearenotonlyfamilymembersandafewfriendssittingatthetable,butinmanycasesourwholeonlinesocialnetwork.
Asaresult,inthe21stcentury,foodshouldnotonlytastegood,butalsobesocial-media-compatible.
Nomatterhowjuicyafishfilletcanbe,ifitdoesn’tlooktastyinthemobilephonescreenorifyoudon’thavetowaitinlineforitforhours,youwon’tcollectanylikesintheonlineworldanditisthereforenotgoodfornourishingyoursocialmediaego.MasterBao’sPastry,another“Internetfamous”snacksupplier,alwayshascustomersqueuedupoutside.ThenewgenerationofChinesecaterersknowshowtomakethemostoutofthesepsychologicalconnections.China’syoungfoundersinthegastronomyscenenolongerrelyonclassicadvertisingfortheirsuccess,butonthecreationofsocialmediahype.
Andthisisbesttriggeredwhenyourownproductiswovenwithatouchofsomethingspecial,afoodexperiencethatisnotavailableateverycorner,butrequiresacertainamountofefforttogetto.
Insteadofrelyingonhighpricesasafilter,asinthepast,thenewchainsrelyonamixtureofsupplyshortagesandword-of-mouthpropagandaviasocialnetworks.AndthismixtureultimatelyleadstowhatcancurrentlybeobservedinSanlitun:waitinginline.
Minute55–CheeseTeainSight
Mythroatisdry,thelegsaretired,butanticipationisrising.AfteraboutanhourofstandinginlineIactuallywalkmywayuptothecheckoutandfinallyorderedamatchacheesetea(芝士靜岡抹茶).
Withmycollectioncouponinhand,Iwaitformynumberbeingcalled,sothatmycheeseteapremieremightbegin.Meanwhile,Ilookoverthebarista’sshouldersbehindthecounter,whiletheyaremixingthebeverages.
AtHEYTEA,everyorderisfreshlyprepared.Andalthoughseveralstaffmembersarewhirlingbehindthecounter,thisstilltakesacertainamountoftimeforeachcup.Thismightlimitthedailysalesvolumeperstore,butwhenitcomestoadvertisingeffect,theoperatorsoftheteachaincertainlybenefitfromthis.Becauseeverycustomerwhoqueuesuplikemeultimatelykeepsthelineoutsidethedooralive.
Inaddition,HEYTEAhaslimitedthenumberofcupsservedpercustomertoamaximumoftwotothree,dependingonthestore.Ifyouwantmore,youhavetoqueueupagain.AndtherearealsoonlytwobranchesofthechaininthemegacityBeijing,despiteenormousdemand.
MasterBao’screamy“beeftreasures”arealsofreshlypreparedbytheconfectionersafterordering.Inaddition,thepurchasableamountpercustomerhasbeenlimitedtofourpounds.
Inthisway,thecakechainalsocreatesoneofthebasicingredientsforhype–longandclearlyvisiblequeuesinhighlyfrequentedshoppingarcades.
Minute65–FinallyattheFinish
After65longminutesIfinallyholdmyfirstChinese“cheesetea”inmyhands.ButbeforeIstartthefirst,desperatelyawaitedsip,Ican’thelpbuttakeasnapshotofthistrendylayereddrinkingreenandwhiteinitsstylishlydesigned,transparentplasticcup,inordertodisplaymyprizelaterinWeChatmoments,somethingsimilartoFacebook’stimeline.
Afterall,65minutesofstandinginlineshouldnothavebeeninvain.Alittlepositivefeedbackontheonlinecommunityisexactlythevalidationthatmytired,consumptionconsumedsoulneeds.
AndwiththisbehaviorIunconsciouslyfulfilleverythingtheyoungteachainultimatelyspeculatesandcountson.
NotonlyhaveIpatientlystoodinline,I’vealsospentmyhardearnedmoneyontheirproduct,andgiventhemsomefreeyetvaluableonlineadvertisingfortheirbrandandproduct.
Itisexactlythisdigitalword-ofmouthpropagandathatmakesHEYTEAacultdestinationforChinesefoodies.
ThehappyendingcomeswhenIfinallyenjoythefirstsips.Thankstothedifferentdensityoftheingredients,thelayerofteaandcheesetoppingremainseparatedinthecupduringdrinkingandonlymixinthemouth.Thiscreatesmanydifferentlynuancedtastesdependingonthecompositionoftherespectivesip.
Howmuchofmyresultantblissislinkedtotheactualtasteoftheteaandnottheexcruciatingwaitandaparchedthroatisupfordiscussion.Butonethingiscertain:Iamhappy.Andthatfeelingisreal,nomatterhowitfinallycomesabout.