NingJi
柠季 · Fresh Lemon Tea
Now recruiting · Australia & New Zealand
China's №1 fresh lemon tea brand — expanding across Australia & New Zealand.
3,500+ contracted stores in China · 90+ stores signed overseas · Backed by Tencent & ByteDance · Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland territories actively recruiting franchisees through ABC Franchise as Australia/NZ partner.
3,500+
China stores
21.6%
China lemon tea share
12 mo
Avg payback
200M+
Cups sold
Open now · 4.3★
NingJi Eastwood
Shop 3/160 Rowe St, NSW 2122
Live AU/NZ traction
Already trading, every day.
Sydney · Eastwood
Shop 3/160 Rowe St · open till 10pm Fri–Sat · 4.3★ on 47 reviews · opposite Eastwood Woolworths centre
Sydney · CBD first store
3 months · monthly revenue ~¥1M RMB · Chatswood, George St, Burwood under build
Melbourne · first store
2-week soft launch end March 2026 · 600–1,000 cups/day · queues morning to night
Auckland NZ · first store
Single-day peak ¥30k+ RMB · 2nd Auckland site being selected
Brisbane · Canberra · Gold Coast
Multiple sites under construction · recruitment open
65–70%
Store gross margin
20–30%
Store net margin
20–30 sqm
Typical store footprint
$4 AVG
Per-cup ticket (AUD)
Why this brand
A category-defining brand, not a me-too tea concept.
Category dominance
NingJi is the №1 fresh lemon tea brand in China by store count and market share (21.6%). In 2024, 3 out of every 5 new lemon tea stores in China was a NingJi. Fastest brand in history to reach 2,000 stores — 3.5 years.
Proprietary supply
Owns 1,000+ acres of company-controlled fragrant lemon (香水柠檬) plantations in Guangdong / Guangxi. Six domestic distribution hubs and a Malaysia regional warehouse under construction. Stable cost. Stable supply. Stable margin for franchisees.
Blue-chip investors
Series A: ByteDance + Shunwei Capital (July 2021). Series A+: Tencent (January 2022). Existing shareholders oversubscribed. Capital depth means the franchisor side is well-resourced behind every market it enters.
Unit economics
The math that makes franchisees come back.
A 20–30 sqm store, low labour, automated equipment, premium-priced category with strong repeat behaviour. The model that produced China's fastest tea-brand growth — now coming to AU/NZ with the same playbook.
Stores opening in Sydney are clearing monthly revenue near ¥1M RMB (~AUD $200,000/month) after three months of operation.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Store footprint | 20–30 sqm |
| Average transaction value | USD $2.50 (~AUD $4) |
| Store gross margin | 65–70% |
| Store net margin | 20–30% |
| Average payback period | 12 months |
| Melbourne soft-launch volume | 600–1,000 cups/day |
| Sydney monthly revenue (mature) | ~¥1M RMB / month |
| Estimated build-out (AU/NZ) | $200k – $500k AUD |
Figures from NingJi 2026 overseas brand deck and Australia/NZ recruitment policy. Actual store-level returns depend on location, lease terms, mall vs. street format, and team performance. ABC Franchise can walk you through a venue-specific projection.
The franchise package
Revenue-share model — not a traditional franchise fee.
NingJi runs a revenue-share partnership model for AU/NZ. No large upfront franchise fee — instead, an ongoing brand fee plus tiered management fee on revenue. The franchisor only earns when the store earns.
Single store
1 venue
For an owner-operator starting in one territory.
- Brand authorisation fee2% / month
- Management service feetiered 1.2–3%
- Performance bond¥20K RMB
- Total upfront¥20K RMB
3-store package
3 venues signed
For experienced operators committing to a territory.
- Brand authorisation fee1.8% / month
- Management service feetiered 1.2–3%
- Performance bond¥60K RMB
- Total upfront¥60K RMB
5+ store package
5 venues signed
For multi-territory developers and master operators.
- Brand authorisation fee1.5% / month
- Management service feetiered 1.2–3%
- Performance bond¥100K RMB
- Total upfront¥100K RMB
Management service fee — how the tier works
Pays for VI, training, marketing, takeout ops, membership platform.
First AUD/NZD $48,000 revenue / month
exempt
$48,001 – $60,000
1.2% / month
$60,001 – $80,000
1.8% / month
$80,001 – $100,000
2.4% / month
Above $100,000
3% / month
Tips and taxes excluded. Worked example: Monthly turnover AUD $90,000 → management fee = ($12k × 1.2%) + ($20k × 1.8%) + ($10k × 2.4%) = AUD $744.
Opening subsidies · up to ¥50,000 RMB / store
NingJi underwrites your launch.
- ●Opening Gift Pack — ¥10K voucher value per store (lemons / lemon juice / no-minimum vouchers)
- ●Market Expansion Grant — ¥20K per store if location confirmed by 31 May 2026; ¥10K if confirmed by 30 June 2026
- ●New Store Marketing Pack — ¥20K value (exclusive grand opening marketing, custom promo materials, exposure resources)
- ●Paid over 6 months from store opening date
Brand support
What NingJi HQ delivers, beyond the brand.
Store + VI design
"One store, one design" approach. Customised packaging materials for AU/NZ market.
Opening training
SOP-driven beverage preparation; full smart-equipment suite for overseas stores.
Opening marketing
"One-Day Store Manager" campaigns, multi-store simultaneous launches, KOL/KOC matrix activation.
Takeout ops
Operational guidance for delivery aggregators in your market.
Membership platform
10M+ China members on the digital platform. Customer persona, recommendation algorithm, NLP-driven KOC monitoring.
Quarterly menu refresh
New products launched every quarter. International-market customised menus.
Celebrity + IP resources
Wang Yitai Sydney concert sponsorship. Hong Kong Film Festival title sponsor. Pokémon & Detective Conan collaborations.
Supply chain
Six domestic warehouses, Malaysia regional warehouse under construction. Proprietary fragrant lemon plantation.
3-year contract
Performance bond returned interest-free at end of term if no breach; renewal waives re-payment.
Apply for a NingJi territory
Australia & New Zealand · 2026 cohort.
ABC Franchise is NingJi's Australia/NZ recruitment partner. Tell us about you and your target market — we'll qualify your fit and arrange a 30-minute call with the NingJi overseas team.