Chinese high-end tea brand Xiaoguancha is seeking to refresh the domestic and international markets through leveraging research and development to drive tea quality and digitalization, said Du Guoying, founder and chairman of Xiaoguancha.

To make Chinese tea known to more international users, Du disclosed that, for seven years, Xiaoguancha has been developing a professional tea brewing machine, just like a coffee maker, where people can enjoy a cup of high-quality tea in an easy and efficient way.

Du shared this insight in an interview with China Daily during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 that ended in Boao, South China's Hainan province late last month. Xiaoguancha serves as the official tea provider of the conference.

"Chinese tea is still known to the western world as a raw material with an average price of $5.55 per kilogram. In other words, it is still known as cheap raw material on the international stage, rather than a brand," Du said.

He noted that Chinese tea brands have not yet created enough brand influence on the international stage, despite officially entering the European market about 400 years ago.

"When we eventually go overseas, we hope to emerge as a brand with our highest quality tea, a deep understanding of Western people's consumption habits and a complete set of solutions," he emphasized.

Xiaoguancha, which is known for offering an exquisite aluminum small-sized container to keep tea leaves for each single brew, has been increasing popular in the Chinese market in recent years.

Du said: "We have also been striving to promote digitalization while producing tea and the investment in the research and development has been intense for the company."

According to him, Xiaoguancha has invested a total of 1.5 billion yuan ($207.36 million) for its super factory in Huangshan, East China's Anhui province.

The factory embeds tea research and development, testing and inspection, intelligent three-dimensional warehousing and fully automatic packaging, and scientific logistics, he disclosed.

chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn