Heytea — Valuation, Funding & Investors

Heytea is a Chinese tea beverage chain founded in 2012 in Jiangmen, Guangdong, and headquartered in Nanshan District, Shenzhen. Originally launched under the name Royal Tea, it was rebranded to Heytea in 2016 after a trademark dispute. The chain is known for its cheese tea, made with Anchor cheese, milk, cream and salt, alongside a wide range of fruit teas, milk teas and tea lattes, and now runs more than 4,000 stores, mostly across China.

Heytea's customers are largely younger, social-media-active tea drinkers, and the brand has run collaborations with Adidas and Fenty Beauty. It has also expanded abroad, opening its first US store in New York City in December 2023 and reaching 15 New York locations by January 2025, alongside outlets in the UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.

Listed funds carry late-stage private names. A fund's latest schedule of investments shows whether it holds Heytea.

Often trade at a premium or discount to NAV.

Platforms match existing holders with buyers. Heytea availability at any moment is set by the holders.

High minimums, transfer approval, company right-of-first-refusal.

Valuations, rounds and IPO status for every company in the directory — Heytea included.

The last valuation is $9.3B.

Lead investors for each round are in the funding timeline.

The closest tea beverage chain (retail food & beverage) peers are on the competitors page.

The routes section explains what is realistically available for a company at this stage.