A time-honored brand that has become a "favorite" among young people

A time-honored brand that has become a favorite among young people (new window)

On a warm autumn day, at the Canglangting Tea House in Suzhou, Jiangsu, the subtle fragrance of osmanthus floats in the afternoon. Zhou Rui, born in 1995, picked up a tureen and took a sip of tea. He picked up a piece of Biluochun tea pastry with his fingertips. The pastry rustled onto the porcelain plate, and his mouth was filled with the elegant fragrance of Biluochun tea from Dongting Mountain. After leaving the garden, she turned into the Suzhou Daoxiang Village Guochao Experience Store on Guanqian Street and picked up a box of "Eight Scenic Spots of Suzhou" souvenirs printed with the patterns of Tiger Hill Tower and Pingjiang Road, ready to bring to out-of-town friends. "We pay equal attention to food and etiquette. Time-honored brands really understand young people." Zhou Rui said.

Scenes like this are happening in many places across the country. Check out century-old stores and incorporate time-honored cultural and creative products into your daily life. Traditional dairy products have become commonplace in offices, and century-old marinated sauces appear in night market stalls... Consumer products that were once considered "old-fashioned" and "outdated" are now quietly occupying the shopping carts and social dynamics of young people. From "my parents think it's good" to "I like it myself", from "elder recommendations" to "active planting", a reverse fusion of intergenerational aesthetics is quietly taking place in front of the counters, stores and live broadcast rooms of time-honored brands, making the century-old brand a new partner in life chosen by young people.

Technology empowers old roots

Traditional skills unlock new digital expressions

At the Wu Liangcai New Vision Store via 1719 on Nanjing East Road in Shanghai, old-fashioned optometry operating tables and AI (artificial intelligence) glasses are displayed side by side, and many young tourists queue up to try them on. Chen Hong, a tourist from Suzhou, took her children to visit Nanjing Road. She stood in front of the booth and tried on the equipment repeatedly. She couldn't help but sigh: "In my memory, Wu Liangcai is an old shop that sells traditional glasses. I never expected that AI is now installed in the glasses, and it is equipped with first-person shooting, portable Q&A, and traditional optometry." The combination of technology and smart hardware is really refreshing." This century-old glasses brand has joined hands with a smart hardware company to implement a full-chain service of "try-on-optometry-lens customization-after-sales adjustment", and the old store has been upgraded from a single vision correction store to a trendy space with technological experience.

Technology is not a subversion of tradition, but a new window of expression for centuries-old skills. Many time-honored brands rely on their special skills and incorporate new technologies such as AI, digital interaction, and big data to break the stereotype of being "old and conservative." Taobao Tmall's "2025 Intangible Cultural Heritage and Traditional Handicrafts Development Report" shows that the platform's intangible cultural heritage and traditional handicrafts product turnover reached 100 billion yuan, there are more than 35,000 intangible cultural heritage-related merchants, and the average daily intangible cultural heritage live broadcast exceeds 160,000, and the post-90s and post-00s contribute more than 40% of consumption; young consumers no longer just pay for feelings, but also value the personalized expression and digital experience of products. This has also forced many time-honored brands to feed online insights into offline product development.

Time-honored food brands use digital technology to refine their products and gain insight into consumer preferences. In Beijing, Sanyuan Food has moved digital experience into offline stores. The reopened "Beijing Milk Company" theme store near the Drum Tower has attracted many young people to come here to check in. Visitor Li Xiaowen stood in front of the self-service milking machine, received a glass of fresh milk with her own hands, and ordered a cup of the popular Erbajiang milk tea. The robot was on hand to draw flowers, and the retro store was full of trendy fun. "When we were young, we watched our parents use milk coupons to get milk. Now it's our turn to experience it ourselves and take photos to make a special film." Li Xiaowen said while shooting a short video. The store not only sells dairy products, but also displays 70 years of brand development history materials, turning the daily trivial matter of drinking milk into an immersive urban cultural experience.

Suzhou Daoxiang Village relied on platform big data to capture the health demands of young people, and collaborated with Shouxian Valley to develop a series of low-sugar Shanzhen cakes, controlling the sugar content of the cakes to less than 5%, breaking the public's inherent prejudice against traditional cakes with high sugar and fat. Relying on the insights of e-commerce users, it created a "Moon Full Jiuzhou" customized gift box, integrating regional culture into the cakes, and sales have increased steadily since its launch.

In the field of jewelry, Lao Fengxiang and Cai Bai Jewelry rely on online showrooms and digital stores to simplify traditional patterns and develop lightweight Yueji small-gram heavy gold jewelry. They are no longer just valuable heirlooms from the elders, but are suitable for young people's daily wear.

Under the wave of digitalization, the core of the transformation of time-honored brands is not to replace the craftsmanship passed down from generation to generation with new technology, but to build a communication bridge between tradition and young people. In the past, many time-honored brands' exquisite craftsmanship and profound culture were "hidden in the boudoir", and young people lacked access to perception; AI interaction, big data research and development, and online live e-commerce have transformed obscure traditional knowledge into intuitive and interesting modern experiences. Many consumers were initially attracted by the new digital gameplay. During the experience, they slowly understood the core of craftsmanship accumulated by time-honored brands, and finally completed the consumption transformation from checking in for novelty to recognizing quality and continuing to repurchase.

Scene recreation creates new life

Step out of the counter and embed fireworks in your daily life

Entering Shanghai Bailian No. 1 Pharmacy's "Fengzi Pharmacy", the public's inherent understanding of pharmacies has been rewritten. There is no boring feeling of traditional pharmacies here, but a new model of "morning tea and late drunkenness" is implemented. During the day, it is a space for healthy teas. Ginseng American Style and Donkey-hide Gelatin Rose Milk Tea attract many young people to queue up to order; in the evening, it switches to a space for light socializing and drunkenness, and a traditional Chinese medicine sachet and herbal DIY handicraft salon are also opened. The second floor retains complete pharmaceutical sales and health testing services, and the professional medical background has not been weakened. Many young people made a special trip to check in and lamented, "It turns out that pharmacies are not only a place to buy medicines, but also a place where you can sit and experience handcrafts with friends." Traditional pharmaceutical retail stores have been transformed into relaxing rest stations for urban young people.

The key step in revitalizing a time-honored brand is to break away from the old model of “selling goods at the counter”. Consumption has expanded from simply "buying goods" to a comprehensive process of experience, social interaction, and check-in. Stores, night markets, cultural tourism districts, and themed events have all become a stage for time-honored brands to talk to young people.

The two windows of Yueshengzhai store in Beijing Niujie are full of contrast. At the traditional cooked food window, Beijing old men queue up, weigh two kilograms of soy beef or roasted mutton, and go home slowly while humming Peking opera. At the fashionable snack stalls nearby, there is an endless stream of young tourists. The fried loose pork and sesame mutton in paper bowls are steaming hot, and they are 25 yuan each, holding them in their hands and eating them while walking. Ma Qiang, the seventh-generation successor, stood by the stall and introduced that the company has restored the "front store and back factory" model. Behind the glass window, the century-old soup is steaming in the big pot, and consumers can clearly see it. When the Longfu Temple Chao Market opens, Yueshengzhai sets up a stall, and the aroma of long skewers of freshly roasted mutton wafts far away. Many young people come here to buy and check in. In addition to fashionable snacks, the company has also developed a series of ready-to-eat beef products, which have become a snack choice for young people in the gym; it has cooperated with Tongrentang to launch Shanye Warm Lamb Pot, integrating the concept of medicine and food into the scene of simple meals at home.

Sanyuan Food continues to extend the boundaries of consumption outwards, not limited to home refrigerators. In addition to the "Beijing Milk Company" themed store in Gulou, Sanyuan Meiyuan has launched fermented osmanthus yogurt cake and ice milk drinks based on traditional cheese, becoming a popular choice for young people's afternoon tea. Not long ago, at the "Sanyuan Mid-Autumn Wonderful Night" event in Happy Valley, immersive experiences such as national fashion markets, lantern DIY, and Ferris wheel moon viewing were staged. Thousands of young people visited the market and tried new products. A box of ordinary dairy products became a social carrier of urban festivals. At the same time, Sanyuan has deeply connected with tea and coffee chain brands. The milk tea and latte that many young people often drink come from Sanyuan Dairy and have quietly integrated into every corner of leisure consumption.

In compliance with the consumption trends of personalization, diversification and quality, time-honored brands such as Quanjude and Tianfuhao innovate consumption scenarios to adapt to the diverse needs of different customer groups. Quanjude explores a new path of "+catering" and takes the initiative to step out of the traditional catering model. Snacks such as roast duck pancakes and roast duck skewers are available in urban markets and sports events; the Universal City Avenue store caters to the flow of young family customers, and the airport store's streamlined menu caters to the efficient needs of passengers. "Good Duck" and "Beautiful Duck" plush cultural creations turn the roast duck IP (intellectual property) into trendy peripherals, adding emotional value in addition to dining. Tianfu Hao breaks out of the traditional scene of "New Year's goods and family banquets" with sauced meat. In Beijing's Qianmen store, focaccia sauced meat pizza has become a popular item among young people shopping. The sauced meat made with century-old soup sauce is paired with Italian pancake base, which is baked and sold now, suitable for light socializing in the business district. The "Hot Lao Series" insists on the front store and the back factory.

Scene reconstruction is essentially to break the consumption time and consumption circle that have been solidified for a long time by time-honored brands. In the past, soy sauce, pastries, and traditional catering were mostly associated with festival scenes such as the Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. The study and painting shops were only for calligraphy and painting enthusiasts. The drug store was equivalent to a place for medical treatment and medicine. Only specific groups of people and specific seasons experienced consumption peaks. Nowadays, time-honored brands have taken the initiative to step out of the counter and enter night markets, business districts, and cultural and tourism sites, adapting to fragmented modern life segments such as shopping, afternoon tea, fitness and meals, and short-distance travel.

Zhu Di, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that commodities are only carriers, and fireworks, participation, and social sharing value are placed in a more important position. Contemporary young consumers are increasingly dissatisfied with simply “buying a product” and place more emphasis on the emotional experience brought about by the consumption process. This is the underlying logic behind the continued popularity of time-honored brands’ offline experience formats.

Two-way force inside and outside

Polish the golden signs of Chinese time-honored brands

White Rabbit assorted toffee candies are neatly displayed on the shelves of Costco Supermarket in Vancouver, Canada, and many local Chinese and foreign consumers stop to buy them. Previously, overseas bloggers posted the 1959 White Rabbit candy wrappers on social platforms. The post received more than 6 million views. Netizens spontaneously created mobile phone cases and T-shirts, setting off a collective archaeology of China's retro packaging. The small toffee became a simple carrier to convey oriental aesthetics. This overseas popularity is not accidental, it is the fruit of the brand’s years of deep cultivation of overseas channels.

The reverse growth of time-honored brands is the result of corporate innovation, policy support, and market opening. Inwardly, we should stick to the origin of ingenuity and consolidate the local consumer market; outwardly, we should embrace the vast international stage and tell Chinese brand stories well.

The release of policy dividends continues to protect the development of time-honored brands. The Ministry of Commerce promotes the demonstration and creation of Chinese time-honored brands and implements a dynamic management mechanism of "in and out"; the 2026 "Time-honored Brand Carnival" will feature "domestic products and trendy products" With the theme of "Rejuvenating and Renewing", four major activities will be carried out throughout the year, including creative markets, public appreciation, famous product exhibitions, and overseas ingenuity; the "Notice on Carrying out Pilot Work on the Aggregation and Development of Time-honored Brands" will focus on the five major directions of product, brand, culture, industry, and overseas expansion to promote the development of time-honored brands from single-point operations to the coordinated development of block clusters.

In local practice, Shanghai has introduced an action plan for the rejuvenation of time-honored state-owned enterprises, dividing brands into two categories: "leading level and promotion level" for policy implementation. Lao Fengxiang has promoted the reform of the professional manager system, and the "Shanghai brand" coffee, which has been dormant for many years, has returned to the public eye by introducing professional operating forces from society. Beijing has introduced a number of supportive policies to activate the cluster of time-honored brands in Qianmen Dashilar.

Suzhou Daoxiangcun continues to expand overseas. Its pastries are exported to more than 60 countries and regions, with more than 4,000 overseas sales outlets. It has jointly launched mooncake gift boxes with European e-commerce platforms, bringing Suzhou-style pastry culture to overseas Chinese and foreign consumers. In addition to its domestic diversified scene layout, Sanyuan Food also continues to expand its B-side overseas supply chain and export its production and research and development capabilities for domestic dairy products. Phoenix Bicycle seized the opportunity of jointly building the “Belt and Road” and built production bases in Bulgaria and Indonesia. The old national brand regained its vitality in overseas markets.

Amid the hot market, the industry also maintains calm and realistic thinking. According to Zhang Linshan, a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, some time-honored brands still have problems with lagging internal mechanisms and superficial digital transformation. A few brands have signs of lax traceability and excessive marketing hype. The foundation of innovation for time-honored brands is to rectify their origins. They must clarify their true development context, hold on to the core of craftsmanship and quality, and cannot regard the national trend as a simple traffic gimmick.

"Renewal does not mean denying tradition, and being upright does not mean being complacent. Quality and cultural core are the fundamental yardsticks for the stability and long-term development of time-honored brands." Hong Tao, a professor at Beijing Technology and Business University, believes that time-honored brands cannot "rely on their old age". On the one hand, they must strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights such as trademarks and intangible cultural heritage skills to lay a solid foundation for development; on the other hand, they must continue to promote the iteration of products, services, and marketing models, and coordinate both domestic market penetration and international layout to achieve sustainable development.

The fact that young people are willing to put "the choice of their elders" into their shopping list is essentially a recognition of century-old quality and a sympathy for the contemporary expression of traditional culture. Oldness is the profound heritage accumulated; newness is the fresh vitality facing the current life. Only by adhering to the roots of craftsmanship and bravely embracing the changes of the times can time-honored Chinese brands continue to shine with ever-lasting brilliance amid the wave of expanding domestic demand and building independent brands.