- 2025 earnings drop sharply amid competition from fresh tea chains
- First-quarter surge highlights volatility as company pivots strategy
China’s “first milk tea-focused stock” Senpure (香飘飘) posted a sharp earnings decline for 2025, highlighting mounting pressure from fast-growing fresh tea chains, even as a strong start to 2026 signaled a tentative rebound.
The Huzhou-based company reported revenue of 2.93 billion yuan ($428 million) for 2025, down 11% from a year earlier, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 62.38% to 95.2 million yuan, according to its annual report released late April 29.
Results swung in the first quarter of 2026, with revenue rising 51.41% year-on-year to 878 million yuan and net profit jumping nearly sixfold to 93.4 million yuan—almost matching the company’s full-year earnings for 2025.
The volatility reflects deepening structural challenges for the once-dominant instant milk tea maker.
Since its 2017 listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Senpure’s annual revenue has hovered around 3 billion yuan, slipping in 2025 to levels last seen before 2018.
Net profit has fallen even more sharply, dropping from 280 million yuan in 2023 to below 100 million yuan, the lowest in nearly 13 years.
A key pressure point is the rapid expansion of freshly made tea drinks. China now has more than 400,000 such outlets, with chains like Mixue Bingcheng operating about 53,000 stores, according to market data.
Dense store networks and 30-minute delivery have eroded the convenience advantage that once defined instant milk tea.
Pricing has also converged. Freshly made drinks priced between 4 yuan and 17 yuan, alongside low-cost coffee offerings such as Luckin Coffee’s 9.9 yuan promotions, overlap with Senpure’s 3.5 yuan to 16 yuan range, limiting its competitiveness.
At the same time, shifting consumer preferences toward healthier options have reinforced perceptions of instant milk tea as high in sugar and calories, causing it to fall out of favor among younger buyers.
To counter slowing growth in its core business, the company is pursuing a transition strategy. In addition to its existing brand portfolio, which includes Xiang Piao Piao Senpure milk tea, Meco fruit tea and LAN Fong Yuen milk tea, it is incorporating traditional “food as medicine” concepts into product development.
The firm has partnered with Zhejiang Chinese Medical University to establish a research institute focused on health-oriented beverages.
New offerings include functional drinks such as warm milk tea based on ancient recipes involving jujubes and other tonics.
Research and development spending rose 47.5% in 2025 to 54.9 million yuan, marking a sixth consecutive year of increases.
On the distribution front, Senpure has expanded into direct retail channels, with more than 40,000 snack-focused outlets.
The company is also looking overseas to offset the cutthroat competition at home. It has announced plans to invest about 268 million yuan in a production facility in Thailand, with construction expected to begin gradually in 2026 as it targets Southeast Asian markets and beyond.
