2026 Summer Iced Milk Trend in China: WUYOO Surpasses 200 Stores, ChaBaiDao Sells 700,000 Cups on Launch Day

Iced milk drinks became popular in summer 2026, emerging as a new category in the new-style tea market. Although marketed as 'Korean iced milk', these are all local brands. WUYOO originated in Shenyang, while oh mo! is from Liaoning. WUYOO has opened over 200 stores nationwide, covering Beijing, Hangzhou, Qingdao and other cities; oh mo! started in Liaoyang County, Liaoning, and has surpassed 100 stores, expanding to Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Ningbo and other cities. These products use ice and milk as a base, with a small amount of fruit for flavoring, forming macaron-colored smoothie drinks. Leading tea brands launched iced milk products in summer 2026. ChaBaiDao introduced 'Lychee Iced Milk', selling 700,000 cups on its first day; Bawang Chaji chose lemon fruit milk, focusing on 'refreshing and light'; Heytea launched several limited iced milk varieties; Tea Falls introduced Icy Blue Sea Salt Iced Milk, featuring a slight saltiness and blue-white layering. ChaBaiDao's Lychee Iced Milk went on sale on May 20, 2026, and was gradually discontinued from July 10, with a sales cycle of less than two months. This was mainly because it used Hainan Feizixiao lychees, which have a harvest period of only about one month. Subsequent supply relied on staggered lychee supplies from Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi, but still could not cover the entire summer. Market data show that the domestic tea market's growth has slowed. In 2025, the domestic tea market size reached RMB 187 billion, with year-on-year growth easing to 6.4%, down from 19.3% in 2023 and 8.2% in 2024. The competitive focus has shifted from store count to adapting to consumption scenarios. The simple formula of iced milk precisely meets consumers' summer demand for refreshing milk drinks, and the business logic has moved from 'providing products' to 'meeting specific scenario needs'. The iced milk category faces seasonal and supply chain challenges. Demand for cold drinks declines after autumn, and fruit supply is seasonally limited, resulting in a narrow window for product availability. In autumn 2025, delayed arrivals of imported lemons combined with a gap in domestic lemon harvesting triggered shortages of lemon milk at many stores. In terms of raw material price fluctuations, wampee (yellow skin) prices rose from RMB 10 per kilogram to RMB 17 per kilogram within a short period due to concentrated purchases by tea brands. The entry barrier for making iced milk is low, but recipes are easily copied, posing a significant risk of product homogenization. Brands must rely on procurement, production and logistics systems to build differentiation barriers and cope with raw material price volatility and supply stability issues.