Guming's ready-to-drink beverages will be launched in retail channels, marking a major step from stores to shelves | Exclusive
Text | Zhong Yixuan
Editor | Qiao Qian
36Kr exclusively learned that Guming's RTD (Ready-to-Drink) beverages are about to enter the retail channel. Currently, the selected cities for launch are Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Wenling, and Hangzhou. This project is classified as an S-level project at Guming.
In December last year, Guming officially launched its ready-to-drink beverages, but the sales channels were limited to Guming stores. Currently, four products have been launched, including apple juice, kale fruit and vegetable juice, Thai tangerine juice, and seven-fold fruit and vegetable juice, all of which use HPP technology.
HPP stands for High-Pressure Processing, which is currently the highest-level non-thermal preservation process in the fruit juice processing industry. Its taste is close to that of freshly squeezed juice. However, the investment threshold for HPP equipment is relatively high, and due to the process requirements, it must be refrigerated at a constant temperature throughout the whole process. Most HPP juice brands in China use third-party contract manufacturers.
36Kr learned from people close to the channel that the products that Guming will enter the retail channel this time are HPP apple juice (260g) and HPP seven-fold fruit and vegetable juice (260g). The purchase prices are 108 yuan per box (4.5 yuan per bottle) and 132 yuan per box (5.5 yuan per bottle) respectively, and the final retail prices for consumers are 9.9 yuan per bottle and 11.9 yuan per bottle. Compared with the prices in stores, the retail prices of these two products are 2 yuan higher.
In addition, 36Kr learned that Guming plans to enter channels such as Laopo Daren, Yonghui, and Shizu Convenience Stores, covering snack retail stores, convenience stores, and supermarkets. Like Guming, Laopo Daren and Shizu Convenience Stores are brands that originated in Zhejiang and have a deep presence in the region.
It is not something new for tea companies to enter the ready-to-drink market. However, different from its competitors, Guming is the only company that produces HPP ready-to-drink products and has its own HPP production line. The ready-to-drink products launched by Heytea and Nayuki are all at room temperature and have a long shelf life. They are produced by contract manufacturers, and they do not have their own production lines. Currently, Guming's HPP juice is produced both by external contract manufacturers and its own production line. Its own factory is Zhejiang Guoru Food Technology Co., Ltd.
HPP products need to be refrigerated throughout the whole process and have a short shelf life, which requires a high-level cold chain. For freshly made tea brands, it is mostly used as a tea base for B2B supply to stores, as an option for upgrading fruit tea and fruit coffee products. For example, Heytea's seasonal fresh fruit drinks, fruit and vegetable special blends, and Guming's Big Orange Americano and other fruit coffee products all use HPP pure juice.
However, Guming is quite special. Launching HPP ready-to-drink products in stores is a reuse of its own cold chain capabilities and HPP production capacity, making the most of its resources. Among freshly made tea brands, Guming is also the only company that has made heavy asset investments in its own cold chain system.
Now that it is entering the retail channel, it also means that Guming's HPP ready-to-drink products will transform from a side business in stores to an independent retail business.
Judging from the terminal prices, the two HPP ready-to-drink products that Guming is about to launch in the retail channel are in the price range of 9.9 - 11.9 yuan. Compared with HPP products of the same 260g specification, Weiguoqing and Peishi are positioned in the high-end market, with prices above 14 yuan. Nongfu Spring and Beibingyang only have 300ml specifications. After conversion to 260ml, the price range is 11 - 13 yuan, which belongs to the mid-range mainstream.
By pricing its HPP apple juice at 9.9 yuan, which is lower than its competitors in the distribution channel, Guming's intention is quite obvious - in the freshly made beverage market, Guming hopes to establish its brand image of "high quality and affordable prices", and the same applies to its ready-to-drink business.
Choosing to enter the extremely niche HPP category is a smart choice for Guming. It can avoid overlapping with its peers in terms of product categories and take advantage of its own factory and cold chain to gain a certain price advantage compared with other HPP players. This is also the reason why Guming chose to launch its products in the distribution channels in Zhejiang and Guangdong first. These two regions have the most concentrated Guming stores and the most developed cold chains, resulting in lower marginal costs.
In recent years, Guming has been constantly taking actions in new business areas, from coffee and baking to the launch of ready-to-drink products. This company is using its store network and cold chain capabilities as the core to increase new revenue outside of its main milk tea business. As of December 31, 2025, the total number of Guming stores has reached 13,554.
However, for Guming, the store and the retail world are two completely different systems. Moving its ready-to-drink products to the distribution channel, Guming will also face the following new challenges - from the past overcapacity to adapting to the stable demand for external orders; the increase in channel costs; the greater difficulty in inventory and supply chain management after leaving the stores; and the longer turnover cycle, which also increases the risk of inventory losses for HPP products with a short shelf life.
As early as in an interview before the company's listing, Wang Yunan, the founder of Guming, clearly stated that "MIXUE is not my benchmark. Bottled water is." After encroaching on the market share of bottled water with its freshly made tea, now, Guming has truly entered the territory of bottled water.