Despite being "expensive and unpalatable," it has soared in popularity since 2024 and become one of the "super ingredients" in the beverage industry that cannot be ignored. Bakery China, as the world's leading professional bakery trade show and industry bellwether, attracts many top companies and brands from all over the world every year. On such a platform that brings together industry elites and cutting-edge trends, kale, as a "super ingredient" in the new tea industry, has naturally become one of the focuses of the exhibition.

Since mid-2024, kale has become one of the most popular ingredients in new tea drinks, bottled beverages, and even instant beverages. According to previous reports, shortly after the launch of the "Kale Slimming Bottle," Heytea consumed over 50,000 kilograms of kale in just a month.

Interestingly, when kale was first introduced into China, it was not for consumption but for ornamental use as greenery. Later, it gradually spread as a vegetable on a small scale. Nowadays, it has transformed and stepped out of the "vegetable circle," becoming another "super ingredient" in the tea drink circle.

How did kale go from being a "niche vegetable" to entering the public eye, and why has it become a hotly pursued "super ingredient" by brands?

Kale juice has gone viral from new tea drinks to bottled beverages, thanks to continuous brand efforts.

Around the Spring Festival, new tea drink and retail brands continued to intensify their efforts. In addition to Heytea's new products, Sam's Club also launched kale-related beverages at the end of 2024.

In fact, the popularity of kale juice can be traced back to Heytea's "Champion Slimming Bottle."

On July 26, 2024, during the Paris Olympics, Heytea launched the "Champion Slimming Bottle" in collaboration with Anta Champions. This product consisted of kale, apple, lemon, chia seeds, and Heytea's classic green tea base. The "Champion Slimming Bottle" became an instant hit, selling over 1.6 million bottles in just a few days and quickly ranking among the top 3 best-selling Heytea products.With the popularity of the "Champion Slimming Bottle," kale gradually became a hot topic among consumers.

Soon afterward, many new tea drink brands, including ChaPanda and NAIXUE, launched related products, pairing kale with fruits such as kiwi, yellow lemon, and apple. However, kale remained the "centerpiece," appearing prominently on product packaging and names.

Kale-based juice products did not emerge in the market in 2024. In fact, some beverage brands had already launched related products before 2024. The juice brand VCLEANSE had introduced "Kale Celery Juice" as early as 2018.However, at that time, kale's popularity was not high. On VCLEANSE 's Tmall flagship store, most reviews for the "Kale Juice" product appeared after July 2024.

Why has kale, once a "niche vegetable," become popular now?

The now-popular kale was initially a "niche vegetable," popular only among certain groups.

Also known as leaf peony, peony vegetable, sea kale, etc., kale was first introduced into China for ornamental use. Later, edible varieties were cultivated, and kale's tenure as a vegetable was relatively short.

As a vegetable, kale's taste does not appeal to the general public and even has a slight "bitterness," with many netizens finding it "unpalatable." However, kale is rich in high dietary fiber and vitamins, so it mostly appears in meals for those on a diet.

Nevertheless, from the second half of 2024, kale is no longer "niche." Related products quickly went viral on social media with the "healthy superstar" label, making kale a "trendy ingredient" in the market. On RedNote, as of February 6, 2025, the hashtag #kale had over 160 million views and nearly 500,000 discussions.

Although brands had previously launched related beverages, why did kale explode in popularity at this point, with brands continuously introducing it as an ingredient?

a. Under the trend of health, kale's health benefits have been magnified.

Today, consumers' attention to healthy food has increased unprecedentedly, with the "light eating" and "low-calorie" diet concepts prevailing. Consumers prefer natural and nutrient-rich ingredients. Kale, with its high dietary fiber, multiple vitamins, and low-calorie properties, aligns with consumers' pursuit of health and nutrition.

With the help of the health trend, kale's functions were discovered and magnified by consumers. As the discussion about kale on social media heated up, many netizens labeled it as a "must-eat for summer weight loss" and a "constipation reliever," and it was even once called a "super vegetable."

b. Brand innovations helped kale "break the circle."

In recent years, new tea drink and retail brands have been "self-generating traffic," with their innovative products receiving considerable attention from consumers.

Brands such as Heytea, NAIXUE, and Hema paired kale with fruits and tea, weakening its bitterness while also labeling the products as "healthy and low-calorie." These innovations not only met consumers' demands for low-calorie and fat-reducing options in terms of function but also received positive market feedback for their novel flavors and combinations.

c. The amplification effect of social media.

The popularity of kale cannot be overlooked without considering the driving force of health trends, brand innovations, and its "social attribute."

New tea drink and beverage brands' kale-related products, whether in terms of ingredients, product color, or packaging design, conformed to consumers' definitions of "novel and unique" products. Such "novel and unique" products often carry a "social attribute," prompting consumers to spontaneously "share" and "check-in" on social platforms, which is also one of the reasons for the popularity of kale-related products.

On the other hand, social media further fueled kale's popularity.

Many bloggers, KOLs, celebrities, and other content creators have posted on social media, sharing kale-based diet combinations and weight-loss recipes, enhancing market awareness. Kale-based "trendy recipes" and "health check-ins" have successfully attracted young consumers who focus on body management, thereby creating a larger propagation effect.

Bakery China 2025 will continue to share more industry professional content with you, so please stay tuned!

Bakery China, organized by China Association of Bakery and Confectionery Industry (CABCI) and Bakery China Exhibitions Co., Ltd. was launched since 1997. Bakery China is the Asia Pacific‘s leading event serving the entire value chain for the bakery and confectionery market. The event presents all range of ingredient, equipment, packaging and services, and enables global leading professionals and buyer delegates to meet and share the latest innovations and thinking on manufacturing & distribution, R&D, applications and related services for bakery industry.

The 27th Bakery China would be held on May 19-22, 2025 at National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), Shanghai, covering 330,000 sqm show space. Over 2,200 exhibitors and 400,000 visits are expected.

Source: FoodTalks