Super plants are becoming the traffic password in the coffee and beverage circle. Following kale, tea and coffee brands like Heytea, Naixue, M Stand, and Nowwa Coffee have become obsessed with adding obscure “super plants” such as beetroot, acai berry, and turmeric to their menus.
Plant-based beverages: Brands’ new traffic password
Recently, “super plants” have exploded in popularity in the coffee and beverage industry.
The term “super plants” originates from the Western concept of “superfoods,” typically referring to healthy plants with high nutritional density and rich in vitamins. The “2024 Ready-to-Drink Beverage New Product Trend Observation Report” shows that super plants are the “dark horse” of the new tea beverage market in 2024. Tea brands such as Heytea, Naixue’s Tea, Chabaidao, and Chajiu Xingqiu have all launched super plant and fruit teas featuring kale, beetroot, and kiwi, promoting benefits like body slimming, fat reduction, and beauty enhancement.
By 2025, at the recently concluded 2025 HOTELE Shanghai Exhibition, Hongcanwang also noticed that, in addition to the “top-tier” kale, various “super plants” frequently appeared at the exhibition booths of major tea and coffee brands. Among them, acai berry, beetroot, and turmeric were particularly popular, showing strong potential to become the new “super plant” top trends.
For example, the recently trending beetroot (also known as red beet), rich in dietary fiber and vitamin C, has been incorporated into new products by many coffee and beverage brands.
- In March, Tims China Coffee launched the “Beetroot American Ginseng Energy Bottle,” priced at 25 yuan, containing red beet, apple, pomegranate, and paired with Eagle Brand American ginseng tea.
- In the same month, NOWWA Coffee introduced the “Super Vegetable Coffee” series, including Beetroot Purple Cabbage Americano and Kale Light Coffee, priced at 28 yuan.
- M Stand released “Beet Apple Hot Americano” and “Beet Latte” in December last year, priced at around 38 yuan, combining the unique vegetable and fruit flavor of beet with coffee.
- As early as October last year, Heytea recognized the potential of beetroot and launched the “Beetroot Beauty Bottle” as its third “super plant tea” product, priced at 19 yuan.
Beyond beetroot, the trend of tea and coffee brands incorporating other “super plants” continues to spread in 2025.
For instance, the fresh fruit tea brand “Shuxia” launched the “Acai Berry Mulberry Yogurt” at the end of March, with a medium cup priced at 22 yuan. Marketed as “Acai Berry + Mulberry = Full Cup of Anthocyanins,” it quickly sparked a social media check-in trend, with netizens dubbing it the “anti-oxidation miracle water.” Last year, Naixue’s Tea, Mogurt, and Algebraist also introduced acai berry beverages.
Some tea and coffee brands have even ventured into using “seasonings” like turmeric and litsea cubeba.
- In mid-April, Heytea launched the new product “Litsea Cubeba Yunnan Papaya,” incorporating litsea cubeba and sour papaya into the drink, along with a new handmade topping “litsea cubeba pea jelly,” which attracted significant consumer attention.
- Guming introduced the “Big Orange Turmeric” product, pioneering the use of turmeric in milk tea.
- Baozhu Cheese incorporated turmeric into fermented rice cheese.
On social media, consumers have given positive feedback on various super plant teas:
- “Heytea’s detox tea really works—you can barely taste the bitter melon, and it feels completely guilt-free to drink.”
- “Naixue’s little green bottle is a lifesaver for those who don’t like vegetables! The taste is sweet and sour, and it supplements dietary fiber.”
- “Chabaidao’s Light Kale drink is delicious and works great as a meal replacement—directly replenishing vitamin C and healthy fats.”
Major coffee and tea brands are busy adding “grass” to their drinks. With the trend toward healthier dining, super plant teas will continue to be popular in 2025.
The rise of “super plant teas”: Two major challenges remain
Why are tea and coffee brands focusing on “super plant teas” this year? Amid the health trend, super plants meet consumers’ dual demands for “health” and “slimming” in coffee beverages.
Chen Jiewen, director of the Clinical Nutrition and Health Branch of the China Health Management Association, told Tide News reporters: “Compared to artificial flavors and additives that may be present in traditional milk tea, fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fiber provide more natural flavors and nutrition, helping to boost immunity.”
Zhan Junhao, founder of Fujian Huace Brand Positioning Consulting, also analyzed for Hongcanwang: “With the rise in consumers’ health awareness and demand for natural beverages, the super plant coffee and tea market will see development opportunities and may become an important growth area in the tea and coffee industry.”
Additionally, as the popularity of plant-based beverages continues to soar, tea and coffee brands are almost guaranteed success with each new super plant product, prompting many brands to follow this “traffic password.”
According to Jushuan Data, over the past year, the search index for super plants has increased by 84.09%, while the comprehensive index has grown by 166.10%. On Douyin, related topics have garnered over 100 million views.
In the past two years, amid fierce competition in the tea and coffee market, major brands have already “rolled out” innovations in tea bases and toppings. As a novel and differentiated concept and ingredient, super plants still have significant market potential. Many tea and coffee brands have achieved impressive market results with related products.
- In January, Chabaidao announced that since its launch, “Detox Wheatgrass” topped sales charts in over 5,000 stores, with more than 100,000 kilograms of wheatgrass used in two months.
- Naixue’s new “Slim Little Green Bottle” quickly rose to the top of Meituan’s trending list on its launch day, sparking a wave of purchases.
- Heytea, which introduced its plant tea series earlier, reported in its annual report that the “Slim Bottle” generated over 1.3 billion exposures on Xiaohongshu. By December last year, the super plant tea series had sold more than 37 million cups.
However, while “super plant teas” gain popularity, underlying issues cannot be ignored.
On one hand, plant-based ingredients like fruits and vegetables have short shelf lives, complicated production processes, and are prone to oxidation after processing, making them harder to preserve. This leads to higher loss rates compared to ordinary raw materials. A R&D staff member from a new tea beverage brand revealed: “Freshness is the selling point of plant-based coffee and tea drinks, but fresh produce is easily damaged during transportation, with 10%-30% loss before reaching stores, directly driving up costs. This is why the cost of fruit and vegetable juices remains high.”
On the other hand, as more coffee and tea brands join the trend, super plant teas will inevitably face product homogenization. For example, many tea and coffee industry professionals told Hongcanwang that more brands specializing in super plants may emerge in the future, further competing for market share.
