Chinese Douyin E-commerce Marketing: Tea Industry "Yuntu + Xingtu + Qianchuan" Whole-domain Collaborative Growth!

Over time, tea has evolved from a traditional beverage into a new form of social interaction, especially among young people. A compact stove, a pot of steaming tea, and a few side snacks have become a trendy lifestyle choice for the younger generation in China. On Douyin, young users are increasingly becoming the main consumers of tea products, creating new growth opportunities for tea brands.

As a leading brand in China’s premium loose-leaf tea industry, Bamacha already operates over 3,000 stores across the country. Since officially entering the Douyin market in 2021, the brand has quickly established a professional e-commerce team on the platform. By 2022, Bamacha had repeatedly achieved sales exceeding one million RMB during major promotional events, marking a successful step in its digital transformation.

However, as online operations became more structured and competition intensified, Bamacha encountered growth challenges in 2023. In response, the ByteDance team conducted an in-depth analysis of the brand’s situation and developed a tailored strategy for upgrading to what they term “Brand Operation 2.0.” This strategy focused on key areas such as audience asset accumulation, live stream traffic expansion, and improved conversion rates. It included leveraging Ocean Engine’s data platform (Juliang Yuntu) for smarter ad placements, conducting small-scale test live streams to optimize product-presenter-scene alignment, and improving conversion through integrated use of branded search, star promotions, and performance ads.

To overcome bottlenecks in audience scale and user conversion efficiency, Bamacha needed a breakthrough in long-term marketing strategies to drive full-funnel business growth and complete its 2.0 evolution.

The first step involved data-driven marketing. Using insights from Ocean Engine, the brand combined content marketing with precision advertising, fully utilizing its first-party data to preheat campaigns and strengthen brand awareness. During major sales periods, product-specific strategies were employed to enhance bidding conversion efficiency.

Next, the brand adopted a pulse-based live streaming approach—using smaller test broadcasts to refine strategies for larger flagship streams. This method helped unlock traffic potential and allowed continuous optimization of products, hosts, and settings through multiple rounds of testing.

Finally, Bamacha implemented an integrated approach combining brand ads, star collaborations, search ads, and performance marketing. Live stream promotions, super tasks, and enhanced brand专区 (Brand Zone) 2.0 features helped merge brand building with sales conversion. The brand also expanded its presence in the “shelf field” (transaction-oriented scenarios) while optimizing content and central campaign tactics. This established a sustainable cycle of always-on content marketing and product placement.

The results were remarkable: during the 618 Grand Promotion, Bamacha ranked among the top brands on Douyin in terms of transaction volume. During the Chinese New Year shopping festival, sales exceeded 60 million RMB. These achievements highlight the growing potential for local lifestyle brands to expand their business through Douyin.

More and more users are turning to Douyin to discover interesting and valuable lifestyle content—underscoring the importance of localized content marketing on the platform. Through its collaboration with Douyin, Bamacha adopted a science-driven content strategy, integrating Ocean Engine, StarMap, and Qianchuan for full-funnel synergy. Multi-department and multi-scene coordination enabled the brand to achieve sustained and healthy growth.