Journal of Tea Science Research, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 21-29 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/jtsr 25 4.4 Integration and development of tea products with crossover foods Tea beverages are cross-paired with crossover foods to form new habits of consumption and reach new possible consumer markets. These include pairing tea with other foods, producing tea-flavored snack foods, and leveraging the taste and health value of tea in food innovation. These crossovers are accounted for by consumers' desire for novelty and strategic targeting of various demographic markets (Liang et al., 2021). 5 Applications of Digitalization and Intelligent Manufacturing in Tea Product Innovation 5.1 Intelligent tea processing and quality standardization technologies Tea processing is also gradually adopting intelligent technologies such as computer vision, machine learning, spectroscopic techniques, artificial sensors, and Internet of Things (IoT) to improve processing, quality assessment, and standardization. The technologies enable autotracking and auto-management of the most vital processing steps (e.g., withering, fixation) resulting in greater consistency, efficiency, and product quality. For example, intelligent control systems and sensor fusion for precise environmental control and quality monitoring have been achieved, and AI-assisted imaging and spectroscopy provide fast, objective, and non-destructive quality testing (Song et al., 2021; Li et al., 2025; Ren et al., 2025). 5.2 Personalized customization of tea products and new digital marketing models Digitalization facilitates the customization of products and new business models. Smart systems and big data allow businesses to customize tea blends, even packaging, to the individual consumer's particular requirements. Direct-to-consumer sales through digital media and online platforms are facilitated, and smart product design (such as smart tea sets) maximizes user experience and interaction and facilitates new business models around customization and consumer involvement (Meng et al., 2023). 5.3 Exploration of “Internet Plus” in the tea industry and new retail models The crossing of "Internet Plus" tactics—internet, IoT, and digital services—has transformed the production, logistics, and sale of tea. IoT technologies provide traceability, supply chain openness, and smart logistics, while digital platforms enable efficient warehousing, promotion, and delivery. Online-offline integration, digital promotion, and experience-based activities are employed by new retail models to attain wider market access and enhance competitiveness (Qiu and Chen, 2024). 5.4 Bottlenecks and solutions in the digital transformation of the tea industry Despite the advancement, there are bottlenecks in the lack of harmonized datasets, weather data volatility, hardware limitations, and farmer digital illiteracy. Solution is in the creation of open data platforms, sensor and AI model robustness, investments in educational digital literacy, and industrial and sectoral standards for smart technologies. Removal of the bottlenecks is instrumental in facilitating sustainable digital transformation and industry upgrading (Lin et al., 2023). 6 Product Innovation under Green and Sustainable Development Orientation 6.1 Development of green processing and eco-friendly tea products Green product development is increasingly being driven by sustainability-oriented competencies such as eco-design and resource integration that directly influence market performance as well as environmental performance. Firms are adopting green processing methods and concentrating on the production of sustainable tea products to address regulatory, marketplace, and customer demands for sustainability. They are motivated by political-legal environments, technology capabilities, and interfirm collaboration along the supply chain (Dangelico et al., 2017). 6.2 Resource utilization of tea by-products and circular economy practices Circular economy initiatives are being adopted, and companies are focusing on using by-products to minimize waste and maximize sustainability. Digitalization and green knowledge management also improve the relationship between circular economy performance and green entrepreneurial orientation in enabling reuse and valorization of tea industry by-products.
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