By LU Yibei

Beverage chain Happy Lemon has seen its number of stores in China collapse from close to 700 in 2022 to less than 250 today. Yummy-Town Group, the parent company, has decided to give up on the Chinese market.

In October, Yummy-Town, founded by Taiwanese businessman WU Bochao, disposed of 70 percent of its Chinese subsidiary’s equity to focus on the US and other overseas markets.

Happy Lemon was once a leader among milk tea brands, but the tea market has moved a long way since then. There were significant changes in the Chinese milk tea market around 2019, after which Yummy-Town’s situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

Wu believes that business on the Chinese mainland needs a complete transformation, and will now concentrate on overseas markets.

According to Yummy-Town’s financial report, its 2019 revenue reached NT$2.2 billion (500 million yuan, US$70 million), with a net profit after tax of NT$129 million. By 2020, Happy Lemon’s global store count reached 1,105.

In addition to the impact of the epidemic, Yummy-Town has suffered from intense competition and changes in the consumption environment, leading to increased operating costs and reduced profits.

In 2023, Happy Lemon launched only seven new products, and the frequency of its social media posts has dropped to one per month. Happy Lemon has been labeled “old-fashioned”.

The loss is nothing new for Yummy-Town. Happy Lemon’s predecessor RBT has long disappeared from people’s sight and now has only 10 stores nationwide.