TITLE:
A Survey of Young People’s Tea Beverage Brands and Analysis of Development Paths in the Context of Rural Revitalization
AUTHORS:
Xiao Li, Ziru Jiao, Jiaqi Fan
KEYWORDS:
Rural Revitalization, Tea Beverage Brands, Adolescent Consumption, Questionnaire Survey, Development Paths
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.10,
October
26,
2026
ABSTRACT: Against the backdrop of the comprehensive advancement of the rural revitalization strategy, the tea industry, as a traditional advantageous industry in China and a pillar industry in many tea-producing counties, bears the dual mission of promoting farmers’ income growth and upgrading the rural industrial structure. However, while upstream tea-producing areas possess high-quality tea resources and rich cultural heritage, there exists a significant value perception gap between downstream new-style tea beverage consumption markets, represented by younger demographics, and the traditional tea industry. This study takes adolescent students under 18 years old as its research subjects, employs a questionnaire survey method, and conducts empirical research around dimensions such as tea drinking behavior, consumption preferences, market perceptions, and acceptance of innovative products. A total of 30 valid questionnaires were collected. The findings reveal that: 1) young people’s tea drinking behavior exhibits a “high penetration, low frequency” pattern, with less than 20% being high-frequency tea drinkers; 2) sensory experience is the core of consumption decisions, Subjectively perceived health value is a key incremental driver for attracting young consumers; 3) the traditional tea market faces a severe trust crisis, with “uneven quality” and “confusing and non-transparent pricing” as two core consumption barriers; and 4) product innovation demands are concentrated in three directions: healthiness, convenience, and flavor enhancement. On this basis, this paper proposes development path recommendations including lowering the entry threshold through “tea +” form innovation, creating tea culture communication methods suited for young people, scenario-based brand seeding, and cross-industry feedback to rural industries. This study provides exploratory reference for local tea brands to precisely align with young consumer demand and achieve a virtuous cycle of “consumer-side feedback to production-side” under the rural revitalization strategy.