Hejian Lotus Leaf Tea uses the concept of homology of medicine and food + scientific verification to solve the pain points of weight management.
In the current context of the continuously heating up wave of health consumption, weight management has become a national necessity. However, most products in the market either rely on additives or lack scientific support, making it difficult for consumers to find a convenient, natural, and effective solution. Xiao Guanqi, a veteran with two decades of experience in the beverage industry, accurately identified this market gap and launched a new-style tea drink "Hejian" Lotus Leaf Tea focusing on weight management. By combining the concept of homologous medicine and food with modern scientific verification, it has opened up a differentiated path in the functional tea drink track. Currently, the project is initiating an angel round of financing to inject impetus into large-scale expansion.
Market Pain Points: The Urgent Need for Weight Management is Prominent, and There is a Gap in Medicinal and Edible Tea Drinks
With the awakening of health awareness, consumers' demand for weight management has shifted from "rapid weight loss" to "scientific body slimming". However, there are obvious shortcomings in market supply. On the one hand, many functional drinks rely on chemical additives, which do not conform to the consumption trend of natural health. On the other hand, the productization degree of traditional medicinal and edible ingredients is insufficient. Especially for lotus leaves, an ingredient with fat-reducing effects, there is no large-scale and standardized tea drink product yet.
This market gap was keenly captured by Xiao Guanqi. As an industry expert who once served as a management staff at China Red Bull and managed a market worth hundreds of millions, he found that pure lotus leaf tea was almost non-existent in the market when he returned to his hometown. The pharmacological value of lotus leaves has long been widely recognized, and its fat-reducing and greasy-relieving effects are highly consistent with consumers' current weight management needs. Data shows that the overweight rate of Chinese adults has reached 34.3%, and the obesity rate is 16.4%. Behind this large audience group is an urgent demand for a convenient and healthy weight management solution, which also becomes the core opportunity for "Hejian" to enter the market.
From an industry trend perspective, the Chinese beverage industry has entered a structural growth stage centered on health. The market scale is expected to reach 1.5 trillion - 1.6 trillion yuan in 2025, with an annual compound growth rate of about 8.5%. Among them, tea drinks have become the second-largest category (with a share of 21%), and the growth rate of healthy sub - categories such as sugar - free and plant - based drinks exceeds 30%. The market scale of functional herbal tea drinks has reached nearly 100 billion yuan, becoming the core growth engine. In 2025, the state proposed a three - year strategy of the "Year of Weight Management", which has created a historical policy opportunity for functional drinks with scientific fat - reducing evidence.
Product Breakthrough: 0 - Additive Formula + Scientific Endorsement to Build Differentiated Competitiveness
In response to market pain points, "Hejian" takes "natural, scientific, and convenient" as the core to build the product's differentiated advantages. Its main product is a 245ml tinplate canned original - flavor lotus leaf tea. The core highlight is "0 - additive" - no preservatives, flavors, or pigments are added. Only high - quality lotus leaves are combined with a small amount of natural herbs (such as poria cocos and coix seeds). The ingredients are transparent, and there is no burden when drinking, which meets consumers' core requirements for healthy drinks.
To strengthen the credibility of the product's efficacy, "Hejian" completed the key scientific verification at the initial stage of its launch. In September 2025, the project obtained a zebrafish experiment report issued by an AAALAC international certified laboratory (Hangzhou Huante Biotechnology). The results showed that the product could significantly reduce fat accumulation in the body, providing modern scientific endorsement for the core efficacy of "relieving greasiness after meals and scientifically slimming the body" and laying a solid foundation for compliant promotion. This advantage enables "Hejian" to form a differentiated barrier among similar products, distinguishing it from most competitors with generalized functional claims and questionable credibility.
In terms of product form and planning, the main product uses a three - piece tinplate two - shrink can packaging. The sugar - free version has a shelf life of 18 months, which is convenient to carry and store and can be adapted to multiple scenarios such as dining and snack - pairing. In the future, a series of products such as Qingyang (cooling and relieving summer heat), Qingchang (enhancing digestion), and Ganrun (mildly removing dampness) will be launched around the "lotus leaf +" theme, as well as various specifications such as aluminum cans with inflation and PET bottled drinks to meet different segmented needs and channel scenarios. At the same time, the project has completed multi - category registration of the "Hejian" trademark. The product packaging has applied for design patents and copyrights, and the core formula is preparing to apply for a national invention patent, building a complete intellectual property protection moat.
Channel Layout and Market Verification: Focusing on Model Areas, Initially Showing Growth Potential
"Hejian" adopts a hybrid business model of "regional agency + online direct sales", focusing on full - channel coverage, especially showing innovation in terminal scenario expansion. Offline, the project concentrates 80% of its resources on the Changsha model market, targeting Class B and above restaurants (hot pot, barbecue, Hunan cuisine) in core business districts. Through bundled sales such as the "Spicy Companion Package" (lotus leaf tea + spicy strips), it accurately enters the post - meal greasiness - relieving scenario, reducing consumers' cognitive threshold. Currently, about 400 terminals have been launched in Changsha, with a sales turnover rate of about 30% and 33 repeat customers. At the same time, in Guangxi, it mainly focuses on transportation channels, covering highway service areas across the province and is in talks with PetroChina, Sinopec, and CNOOC for cooperation.
Online, the product has been launched on 7 major e - commerce platforms, forming a closed - loop of "offline scenario reach + online word - of - mouth communication", initially verifying the product's market acceptance.
The strength of the team has become an important support for the project's progress. Founder Xiao Guanqi has more than 20 years of experience in the Red Bull beverage industry. He has served as the regional head in Sichuan, Guangzhou, and Guangxi, leading the launch of many beverages from scratch. He is proficient in the entire chain of sales, marketing, and channel management. Currently, the company has built a professional echelon covering functional sectors such as strategic decision - making, operation execution, online business, and regional expansion. It has also established a weekly review mechanism, quickly adjusting strategies based on sales data to ensure operational efficiency.
Financing Plan and Future Planning: Accelerating the Implementation of Model Areas and Promoting National Expansion
To further consolidate market advantages and accelerate large - scale development, "Hejian" has officially launched a new round of financing. This round plans to raise 5 million yuan, offering a 10% stake, with a proposed cooperation period of more than three years. The funds will be mainly used in three major directions: 60% will be used for market and channel construction, focusing on the Changsha model market, promoting the development of terminal outlets, the implementation of sales promotion activities, and in - depth channel operation. The goal is to lay more than 3,000 core terminal outlets in Changsha. 30% will be used for team expansion and operation, recruiting core talents in channel construction, investment promotion management, and online operation, and replenishing working capital. 10% will be used for product iteration and supply chain upgrade, promoting the research and development of new flavors, the design and production of new packaging products such as bottled drinks, connecting with new factories, and building new cloud warehouses to optimize the supply chain system.
The project's development plan is clear and practical: in the short term (2026), it will focus on the Changsha market, achieving direct sales of 5 million yuan and aiming for an annual sales target of 10 million yuan. It will ensure that the sales turnover rate of core market outlets remains stable at over 30% and accumulate 30,000 private - domain users. In the medium term (2027), it will continue to focus on the Changsha market, aiming for sales of 15 million yuan. At the same time, it will replicate the successful experience in Changsha and radiate to neighboring provinces, achieving sales of over 20 million yuan. In the long term (2028), it will promote national layout in a phased and rhythmic manner, improve the internal organizational structure and management system, and build a benchmark brand in the healthy drink track.
In the increasingly competitive healthy drink track, "Hejian" is breaking through from the blue ocean of functional tea drinks with its precise scenario positioning, scientific product endorsement, mature channel experience, and clear expansion path. This round of financing will inject key impetus into the project's in - depth development in the model market and national expansion, and its subsequent development deserves continuous attention from the industry and capital.