Dr. David Zhang, Basic Research Director at Master Kong. He holds a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree from China Agricultural University, completed his postdoctoral research at Zhejiang University, and was a visiting scholar at Washington State University. With nearly 15 years of experience in tea and coffee R&D as well as fundamental research, Dr. Zhang brings extensive expertise to the field.
According to Frost & Sullivan, China’s sugar-free tea market witnessed explosive growth in 2023, with the total market size doubling year-over-year and an impressive growth rate of 110%—far surpassing the beverage industry’s overall 6% growth and the ready-to-drink tea segment’s 19%. Entering 2024, the momentum has not slowed: from April to May alone, sugar-free RTD tea sales rose by 14.26% year-over-year, with market share up by 26.17%, outpacing all other beverage categories by more than 10 percentage points in sales growth.
This signals a significant shift—sugar-free tea is no longer just a “healthy alternative,” but has officially entered the mainstream. It also marks the onset of a fierce industry race centered around the return to authentic tea flavors, flavor reconstruction, and capturing consumer mindshare.
This discussion aims to trace sugar-free tea back to its origins—from ingredient analysis to flavor extraction—to reimagine how future-facing sugar-free teas can deliver both a stronger sense of natural authenticity and functional benefits, and explore their innovative applications and development within the evolving beverage landscape.