CHINA
Chinese millennials can now drown their sorrows with a new range of teas by Sung Teas. The tongue-in-cheek marketing plays on the despair felt by some young Chinese regarding their career and marriage prospects.
“Achieved-absolutely-nothing black tea” and “My-exes-life-is-better-than-mine fruit tea” are just two blends in the range.
The brand name itself has also come from a new culture that has been trending on the internet, “Sang” which is based a Chinese character associated with the word “funeral” describes being dispirited. “Sang” culture, which revels in often-ironic defeatism, is fueled by internet celebrities, through music, and the popularity of certain mobile games and TV shows, as well as sad-faced emojis and pessimistic slogans.
It’s a reaction to cut-throat competition for good jobs in an economy that isn’t as robust as it was a few years ago and when home-ownership – long seen as a near-requirement for marriage in China – is increasingly unattainable in major cities as apartment prices have soared. The tea brand has received backlash from China’s Communist party, with concerns it is promoting a pessimistic culture but its ironic nature is still appealing to Millennials.