Nasdaq IPO Positions Chagee For Global Expansion

The listing was the first in the U.S. by a Chinese premium tea drink maker, which prides itself on the simplicity of its products and focus on the country's ancient tea culture

Premium tea drink maker Chagee Holdings Ltd. (CHA.US) raised $411 million (3 billion yuan) this week in the biggest IPO this year by a Chinese company, setting itself apart from a crowded group not only by being first to list in the U.S., but also with its traditional approach to one of China's most famous drinks.

The company raised the sum by selling 14.7 million American depositary shares (ADS) to investors for $28 each and could raise an additional $61.6 million if its underwriters exercise an overallotment option. That makes it the biggest U.S. IPO by a Chinese company since robotaxi operator Pony AI raised about $400 million in a Nasdaq IPO last November. Chagee's stock rose 15.9% on Thursday, its first trading day, valuing the company at $5.95 billion.

Founded in 2017 in Southwest China's Yunnan province, famous for its pu'er-style teas, Chagee has set itself apart from its peers with its simpler, more purist approach to China's tea culture that dates back thousands of years. The company likes to say that such culture is "in its bones," with most of its drinks consisting of milk and tea in various combinations.

That differs markedly from its rivals, many of those listed in Hong Kong, that add a wide range of ingredients to their products, from tapioca pearls, to cheese foam and fruit. The company also emphasizes traditional themes in its packaging and store decorations, including a logo inspired from Consort Yu, a famous figure in Peking Opera.

Chagee is also famous for its homier, more comfortable stores, with some likening that to the approach used by global coffee giant Starbucks. Unlike most of its rivals, whose shops often consist of little more than a window where customers can grab their order and go, Chagee's shops contain seating areas where people can consume their drinks, reminiscent of Starbucks' "third place" concept.

Also like Starbucks, the company prides itself on its treatment of employees, and invited some of those everyday workers, along with some of its franchisees, to ring the opening bell when its shares started trading on the Nasdaq.

Chagee is very much like its peers in reporting explosive growth over the last few years, riding a wave of popularity for their high-end tea drinks among China's growing urban class. Its store count jumped about sixfold from 1,087 shops in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 6,440 at the end of 2024, with franchisees accounting for 97% of those. The company's revenue has grown at a similar rate, rising to 12.4 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) last year from 492 million yuan in 2022.

The company recorded its first profit of 803 million yuan in 2023, and the figure more than tripled last year to 2.51 billion yuan.

In addition to its core China operation, Chagee also sees global expansion as a major new frontier going forward. The company disclosed in its prospectus that it is aiming to operate 1,000 to 1,500 global stores by the end of this year, and has also separately confirmed it plans to open its first U.S. store in Los Angeles later this year.