Last Updated -
June 16, 2026
Explore the business model, global strategy, and market performance including insights into its position in China.
Chagee Holdings Limited is a Shanghai-based premium freshly made tea drinks company founded in 2017. The company sells tea beverages made from extracted original tea leaves and dairy, with a brand built around modern Chinese tea culture. Its teahouses operate through a mix of franchised and company-owned stores across Greater China and selected overseas markets.
Chagee has developed from a domestic tea chain into a Nasdaq-listed public company, trading under the ticker CHA after its April 2025 IPO. Its core business is freshly prepared tea drinks sold through a large teahouse network, supported by franchise services, product supply, store operations, membership programs, and digital ordering. The company’s strategic purpose is to build a premium tea brand with Chinese tea culture at its center, while expanding internationally and increasing the role of company-owned stores.
As of March 31, 2026, Chagee had 7,531 teahouses, including 6,741 franchised locations and 790 company-owned locations. Greater China remained the core market, with 7,157 teahouses and RMB7.49 billion of Q1 2026 GMV, while overseas markets had 374 teahouses and RMB426.4 million of GMV. Q1 2026 net revenue was RMB3.55 billion, with GAAP net income of RMB447.7 million and 50.0 million active members, though same-store GMV growth remained negative at 16.0%, showing pressure from a maturing domestic market and intense competition.
Chagee is a premium freshly made tea drinks company built around modernized Chinese tea culture. It makes money by selling tea beverages through a large teahouse network that combines franchised stores with company-owned stores. Its products center on freshly extracted tea leaves, dairy-based tea drinks, and related freshly prepared beverage categories.
The business is still franchise-led. In Q1 2026, Chagee generated RMB3.546 billion in net revenue, with franchised teahouses contributing RMB2.744 billion, or 77.4% of total revenue. Franchise revenue includes product sales to franchise partners and service or franchise-related revenues tied to their stores.
Company-owned stores are becoming a larger part of the model. Q1 2026 company-owned teahouse revenue rose 230.4% year over year to RMB802.1 million, or 22.6% of total revenue, as Chagee expanded its own-store base and changed its domestic store mix. This gives the company more control over operations and brand execution, but it also increases direct exposure to rent, payroll, utilities, and store-level operating costs.
Chagee’s market position is strongest in Greater China, where about 95% of its teahouse network and 94.6% of Q1 2026 GMV were concentrated. As of March 31, 2026, the company operated 7,531 teahouses, including 6,741 franchised locations and 790 company-owned locations. The total network was up 12.7% year over year.
The company’s competitive advantages are scale, brand positioning, and a large customer base. Chagee had 50.0 million active members at the end of Q1 2026, up 11.7% from Q4 2025. Its premium tea positioning separates it from lower-priced milk tea chains, while its large network supports procurement, product rollout, and brand visibility.
The main challenge is store productivity. Q1 2026 total GMV was RMB7.918 billion, but same-store GMV growth remained negative at 16.0% overall. Greater China same-store GMV fell 16.1%, and overseas same-store GMV fell 12.0%. Greater China average monthly GMV per teahouse improved sequentially to RMB356,080 from RMB337,358 in Q4 2025, but it remained below RMB431,973 in Q1 2025.
Chagee competes directly with other freshly made tea and milk tea chains in China, including premium tea brands and lower-priced mass-market beverage chains. Its closest public-market comparisons are Chinese beverage chains with large store networks and franchise-heavy models. Compared with a discount-oriented Chinese peer, Chagee is more exposed to premium positioning, store experience, and brand-led pricing. Compared with global beverage peers, it remains far more concentrated in China and earlier in its international expansion.
Overall, Chagee holds a leading position in China’s premium freshly made tea drinks market, but its latest results show a transition phase. Network scale, overseas growth, and membership expansion remain strengths. Negative same-store GMV growth, lower margins, and a rising company-owned store mix make execution and cost control central to the investment case.
China is Chagee’s core market. In Q1 2026, Greater China generated RMB7.491 billion of GMV, about 94.6% of total GMV, with 7,157 teahouses in Greater China versus 374 overseas. The company had 50.0 million active members at quarter-end, supporting repeat ordering and digital engagement. Greater China GMV fell from RMB8.048 billion a year earlier, and same-store GMV growth was negative 16.1%, showing pressure from weaker consumer demand and intense tea-drink competition. Average monthly GMV per Greater China teahouse improved sequentially to RMB356,080 from RMB337,358 in Q4 2025, but remained below Q1 2025. Chagee’s local strategy centers on premium freshly made tea, modernized Chinese tea culture branding, franchise scale, and a rising company-owned store mix. Main competitors include other Chinese freshly made tea and milk tea chains competing on price, locations, delivery platforms, and product launches.
Chagee entered public markets in April 2025 with a large store base, a premium tea positioning, and a franchise-led model. Its first quarter of 2026 showed both scale and pressure. Net revenue rose to RMB3.546 billion from RMB3.393 billion a year earlier, while GAAP net income fell to RMB447.7 million from RMB677.3 million. Net margin declined to 12.6% from 20.0%, reflecting weaker existing-store productivity, higher company-owned store costs, and investment in global infrastructure.
Product expansion remains tied to Chagee’s focus on freshly made tea beverages based on original tea leaves and dairy. Future product work is likely to matter most if it improves frequency without weakening the premium brand position or relying too heavily on discounting.
Chagee’s outlook depends on whether overseas growth and company-owned execution offset weaker same-store trends in China. The company has funding capacity and a large member base, but the near-term investment case remains tied to stabilizing store productivity, protecting margins, and proving that international expansion works at scale.
This Company Profile was written by Dominik Diemer
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