Urban Tea is planning to open a production, training and research institute at Liuyang Economic Development Zone in Hunan, China.

The initiative is reported to be part of the company’s efforts to expand its capabilities, meet the growing demand for its products and offer streamlined logistical support.

Urban Tea chief financial officer Kan Lu said: “The centre is expected to begin construction in June 2019 and be fully operational by December 2019.

“The construction of the centre is an important milestone in the company’s development process by centralising many of the company’s functions, and thus allowing us to reduce costs and continue our growth. In the future, we plan to establish production centres in other cities in China.

“We strive to lay a solid foundation and expand rapidly while maintaining and steadily building upon our infrastructure.”

To be built with an investment of RMB10m ($1.4m), the 2,000m2 centre is expected to feature a research and development (R&D) centre, a training facility and production lines that meet relevant Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. It will also include a refrigerated facility and food warehouse.

Urban Tea intends to use its facility to focus on R&D in regards to new beverages, light meals and baked goods.

The company also aims to deliver food production, refrigeration, cryopreservation, distribution and quality assurance in and around the Hunan Province.

The centre will be equipped to release multiple product promotions across different regions, product distributions and centralised employee training. It will replicate this business model in selected international markets.