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Daniel Ren

It is not all doom and gloom when it comes to the US-China trade war.
At a time when more than US$300 billion dollars worth of Chinese exports to the United States face increased tariffs of 25 per cent, milk tea by storied Shanghai brand White Rabbit is selling at a premium of about 2,000 per cent – all in the name of national pride.
Residents are willing to pay as much as 500 yuan (US$72) for a taste of the milk tea, which normally sells for 19-23 yuan, in a black market that has sprung up around it.
Wang Xiaoliang, 40, spent about two hours queuing for a cup of White Rabbit milk tea with hundreds of other shoppers on Saturday afternoon.
“It is not about the taste,” he said. “We just want to show our support for local brands at a time when the US government is plotting to undermine China’s economic development.”

White Rabbit milk-flavoured confectionery rose to global prominence in 1972, when then premier Zhou Enlai presented them to US President Richard Nixon.
Late last month, state-owned food processor Guan Sheng Yuan (Group), which owns the confectionery brand, set up a pop-up store at CapitaMall Luone shopping centre on Shanghai’s Xujiahui Road along with two local partners to sell White Rabbit milk tea. The company is making and selling milk tea for the first time in the brand’s 60-year history in an attempt to launch more crossover products to rejuvenate the White Rabbit name.
Even though there is cutthroat competition in the milk tea sector, the White Rabbit pop-up was met with great fanfare and enthusiasm.
Bubble tea craze is a super sweet market for Hong Kong entrepreneurs
Some shoppers spent four to five hours in queue for a cup, according to social media posts. And this latest craze presented scalpers with the perfect opportunity. Having spent long hours in queue themselves, they sold the milk tea to less patient consumers at a huge premium.
A scalper said at least several hundred yuan could be earned per day by scalping White Rabbit tea products. The tea can normally be sold for about 100 yuan by scalpers, but some consumers were willing to pay as much as 500 yuan for a cup, he said.
It is estimated that mainland China has about a million milk and fruit tea shops targeting millennial shoppers.




“The tea doesn’t really have the White Rabbit confectionery taste,” said Andy Yin, a shopper who spent two hours in queue for a cup on Sunday afternoon. “But we don’t care since it is an honour to have a chance of tasting it.” He said he would post pictures of the milk tea on WeChat to display his successful purchase.
Many local consumer brands have seen their star fade over the past two decades amid an influx of foreign imported products. The Shanghai government has stepped in to rejuvenate many of the city’s most cherished business names on several occasions, but in vain.
How White Rabbit sweets went from a Shanghai favourite to being known the world over
“The trade war has created an opportunity for these old brands,” said Zhou Shiyu, a senior executive with Shanghai Zhengzhang Laundrying and Dyeing, an old cleaning products brand in the city.
“But local brands need to work harder to improve their manufacturing techniques, and enhance management skills, to catch up with foreign rivals in terms of quality, packaging and efficiency of distribution.”






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White Rabbit milk tea sells at 2,000 per cent premium as Chinese consumers show support for local brands amid trade war

The White Rabbit milk tea pop-up in Shanghai. According to some estimates, mainland China is home to about a million milk and fruit tea shops. Photo: Daniel Ren

Consumers queue up for buying White Rabbit milk tea at CapitaMall LuOne shopping mall on Xujiahui Road, Shanghai. - SCMP/Daniel Ren

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Shanghai residents pay as much as 500 yuan for milk tea that normally sells for 19-23 yuan
US-China trade war is presenting an opportunity for Chinese brands


“We just want to show our support for local brands at a time when the US government is plotting to undermine China’s economic development,” said Wang Xiaoliang, who spent about two hours queuing for a cup of White Rabbit milk tea with hundreds of other shoppers on Saturday afternoon.


US-China trade war: All stories

China economy

White Rabbit milk tea sells at 2,000 per cent premium as Chinese consumers show support for local brands amid trade war

Shanghai residents pay as much as 500 yuan for milk tea that normally sells for 19-23 yuan US-China trade war is presenting an opportunity for Chinese brands

Shanghai residents pay as much as 500 yuan for milk tea that normally sells for 19-23 yuan

US-China trade war is presenting an opportunity for Chinese brands