Entrance Cases by Industry - Food and Retail

Issue Discovery | A Wave of Chinese Brands Is Making Its Way In

Chinese food and retail brands are gradually increasing their market share. Recently, they have extended their impact to the beverage sector, which mainly revolves around coffee, and offline retail.

ChaPanda: Milk Tea, the Next Malatanghulu

ChaPanda, which entered the Korean market in 2024, has gained popularity among younger consumers for its fresh, healthy, and low-calorie beverages made with organic tea leaves, fresh fruit, and premium ingredients. Unlike other milk tea brands, ChaPanda has successfully targeted the Korean market through a localization strategy. As part of this approach, the brand has introduced limited-edition drinks featuring ingredients familiar to local consumers. For instance, the brand launched seasonal drinks incorporating Yuja, Ginseng, and Hallabong, as well as beverages inspired by Korean traditions. ChaPanda aims to challenge the perception of Chinese food and beverages as having overly strong flavors by focusing on health-conscious offerings and active localization. Whether these strategies will translate into significant success in Korea’s coffee-dominated beverage market remains to be seen.

MINISO: How Is the Newly Returned MINISO Different From the Past?

China’s leading brand for household and consumer goods, MINISO, first entered the Korean market in 2016, drawing significant attention for its affordable prices and cute designs. Often dubbed the “Chinese version of Daiso,” MINISO offered a wide variety of practical and trendy products, earning positive feedback from younger customers in its early days. However, the brand struggled to compete with the already well-established Daiso and lacked effective localization strategies, ultimately leading to its withdrawal from Korea in 2021. In December 2024, three years after its exit, MINISO reentered the Korean market with a revamped approach. Instead of positioning itself as a low-to-mid-priced retailer for household goods, the brand has transformed into a trendy shop focused on animated character-based products. This time, MINISO is not merely selling products but is curating offline stores to provide engaging customer experiences aimed at maximizing attraction. The brand has also strengthened its partnerships with global intellectual properties (IPs), launching products featuring popular animated character designs to appeal to consumers in their teens and 20s. MINISO is actively exploring collaborations with super IPs like Disney and Harry Potter while also considering partnerships with local IPs such as Kakao Friends to align with its localization strategy.
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