On the evening of August 15th, a tragic incident occurred at the Minhang Jinyuelefang store in Shanghai, where the popular internet-famous milk tea chain brand, Jasmine Milk White, experienced a ceiling decoration collapse that resulted in the death of one staff member. The incident took place during a three-day “buy one, get one free” promotion, which unexpectedly ended in tragedy on its first day.
According to an official report released on August 16th by the Minhang District Jiangchuan Road Subdistrict Office’s official Weibo account “@Jiangchuan Community,” at around 8:15 p.m. on August 15, 2025, the ceiling decoration of a milk tea shop located at 900 Heqing Road in Shanghai collapsed, causing one staff member to be injured and unfortunately lose their life. The store has since ceased operations, with investigations into the cause of the incident currently ongoing.
On August 16th, reports from mainland media stated that the responsible individuals at Jasmine Milk White responded to Southern Metropolis Daily, indicating that the company is fully cooperating with the investigation. At the time of the incident, the shop was running a polite opening promotion from August 15th to 17th, and post-incident, the online ordering feature for this particular store has been temporarily disabled with the contact phone number for group orders being unreachable.
Shanghai citizen Qin Fu shared with Epoch Times, “Yesterday afternoon while passing by Jinyuelefang, the shop involved in the incident was surrounded by boards with no explanatory notices posted. Some people were discussing the incident, with comments like, ‘It’s fortunate that it happened in the staff area, otherwise, the consequences would’ve been unimaginable.’ Others speculated that it might be due to issues in the renovation process, like the plaster cement layer detaching. A renovation expert mentioned that it could be due to the developer using low-grade cement or an excess of plaster creating the detachment.”
According to franchise information, Jasmine Milk White’s headquarters is responsible for providing a unified design for renovations with an estimated renovation period of 26 to 35 days. Reports from Southern Metropolis Daily noted that during the incident, the shop was still in its grand opening phase, and the renovation had been completed not long before.
Business registry information displayed on Tianyancha shows that the associated company Shenzhen Jasmine Milk White Catering Management Co., Ltd. was established in May 2020, with Zhang Biao as the legal representative and a registered capital of about 1.04 million yuan. Its business scope includes milk tea research and development, operation of delicacies and related industries, physical store chain investments, management operations, and corporate management consulting, jointly held by Shenzhen Jasmine Milk White Holdings Co., Ltd. and FRAGRANT TEA LIMITED.
In 2021, Jasmine Milk White opened its first store in Shenzhen, specializing in fresh milk tea with jasmine flower as a base, along with fresh fruit tea, pure tea, retail tea, among other products, priced between 15 to 25 yuan. Within the new tea industry, Jasmine Milk White has seen rapid development. In October 2024, Jasmine Milk White secured nearly a billion yuan in financing from “Are You Hungry,” and in January 2023, began offering franchise opportunities. According to Zimemon data, as of now, Jasmine Milk White has a total of 1,591 stores nationwide.