News has opinions·Industry insights｜From plastic straws to paper straws, why are "three-grade straws" coming again?

What is the origin of the three-grade tube? Can it make milk tea taste better?

Sanpin tube, as the name suggests, is a flat straw consisting of three thin plastic straws arranged in a row. A daily necessities company where Li Erqiao works has been producing and exporting three-grade tubes since about 2004. The application scenarios of this product are mainly coffee. He believes that the temperature of coffee is high and it is easy to burn your mouth if you use a thick straw, while a thin straw can slow down the flow rate and allow the drink to cool down naturally. At the same time, the figure-eight-shaped gap structure of the third-grade tube accelerates the air flow around the straw, making it easier for drinkers to capture the aroma of coffee. In the same way, the third-grade tube will also allow the milk tea to stay on the tip of the tongue longer, improving the drinker's experience, allowing the drinker to "first taste the aroma of tea, second taste the taste of tea, and third taste the charm of tea."

He said that although the three-grade tube is a relatively traditional product, it also inspires different vitality in its application in new scenarios. This actually reflects the changes and upgrading of consumption habits in the tea beverage industry. In the past few years, consumers who drank milk tea preferred rich toppings, such as pearls, fruit pieces, etc., and needed to provide thicker straws. Nowadays, the entire tea industry is increasingly returning to the basics of tea, focusing on low-fat, low-sugar, healthy, and additive-free pure tea. The number of small ingredients has been significantly reduced, giving the third-grade control a place to play.

Zhao Chen, a visiting professor at the International Business School of Beijing Foreign Studies University, believes that the design of the three-quality control restores a more authentic tea culture and also reflects the trend of the development model of China's tea industry. In the past, the representative of Chinese tea drinks overseas was pearl milk tea, but now the return to pure tea is also in the process of passing on culture, which is more in line with the etiquette of drinking coffee abroad.

Where has the straw industry come? What kind of competitive landscape is present?

Li Erqiao has been in contact with the straw industry for 21 years and has witnessed the development and changes of the entire industry. He said that in the past, there was a single type of straw products, and the core competitiveness in the industry was cost and sales. But around 2009, the entire industry began to innovate products. Straws were not only a tool for drinking drinks, but were also endowed with more functionality, entertainment, and emotion, such as cartoon-shaped straws, pinwheel-shaped straws, and baby feeding medicines. Straws, love straws for couples, etc.

Around 2018, the introduction of new environmental protection policies had a great impact on disposable products. The European and American markets took the lead in restricting plastics, prompting companies to develop and produce straw products that meet environmental requirements, such as paper straws, corn starch straws, etc. Li Erqiao said that before there was no plastic restriction, the development of the entire straw industry was very slow, both from a technical and product perspective. However, since 2018, the entire industry has undergone earth-shaking changes. Policy changes have driven the innovation and upgrading of straw companies, and have also led many related companies to actively invest in the industry track of straw production. Therefore, relevant enterprises must make timely adjustments, deploy as early as possible, reserve technologies and channels, and adapt to changes in national policies.

Zhao Chen believes that the development of the straw industry is inseparable from the development of the offline service industry, catering, retail, and beverage industries. His investigation found that in the current competitive landscape of the straw industry, there are many companies in other related industries that saw the good growth potential of the straw business and ended up expanding their business with a full line of products. Such companies provide customers with a complete set of solutions, packaging and supplying disposable products including straws, paper cups, etc.

Looking to the future, how should the straw industry find its development position?

Li Erqiao's company is the "hidden champion" of the global straw industry, with sales of nearly 500 million yuan, of which the annual output value of straws is about 300 million yuan. The export market and the domestic market each account for about 50%. The company has successively undertaken the straw industry It has drafted and compiled more than 10 standards including industry standards, national standards and ISO international standards, and has mastered about 30% of the patents in the industry. He said that currently there are three main categories on the market: plastic straws, paper straws, and PLA polylactic acid straws. If the price of plastic straws is regarded as "1", then the price of paper straws of the same specifications is "2.5 to 3", and the price of PLA polylactic acid straws is "3 to 4".

He also pointed out that paper straws have been criticized by the market due to the hydrophilic nature of the material, but his company has successfully developed a paper straw product that can guarantee that it will not open or bubble in water for 24 hours. At the same time, the industry is also actively developing new materials. For example, PHA biodegradable materials can be composted or degraded in the ocean, but the price is high, 7 to 8 times that of plastic straws. For another example, “edible straws” made from sweet potato flour and cassava flour have been launched on the market. This product can be directly classified into kitchen waste. He believes that straws, a small product, actually carry diverse consumer demands and contain great commercial potential. The future development of the industry should be a hundred flowers blooming.

Starting from the changes in daily life, Zhao Chen observed that an important and practical new design in the current catering chain industry is that many beverage stores no longer provide straws, but use cup lids to drink directly from the mouth. He believes that this reflects the unspeakable hiddenness of the development of the industry. Most technological innovations and patents in the field of straws have been locked up by many companies that have been deeply involved in the industry for many years. Therefore, straw companies are currently in urgent need of innovation in areas other than materials, such as material recycling, additional functions, etc. For example, under the big health trend, some smart straws equipped with sensors have emerged, which can record water consumption and even provide consumers with health advice. For another example, some straw manufacturers focus on specific groups such as infants and the elderly, or for special scenarios such as outdoor and medical care, and use segmented design as a breakthrough point for product innovation. These will inject new ideas into the development of the straw industry. motivation.