Documentary reveals business life in a flux

The phrase "in the wake of" originally described the turbulent water trailing a ship — a literal marker of movement and change. Over time, it evolved into a metaphor for the aftermath of transformative events.

The recently aired documentary In the Wake of Change now applies this concept to the business world, capturing the personal struggles and triumphs of ordinary entrepreneurs navigating today's fast-evolving industries, including cross-border e-commerce, tea franchise booms and the competitive new energy vehicle sector.

Through intimate stories, the documentary reveals how global trends ripple through individual lives — forcing adaptation, resilience and sometimes reinvention.

This resonates particularly in China's ubiquitous tea shop landscape.

While tea franchises have long been regarded as accessible small-business opportunities, last year proved to be an inflection point: waves of store closures swept through the industry, prompting even established brands to halt franchise approvals while recalibrating for profitability.

The documentary team investigates how individual franchise owners weather these changes.

"We wanted to examine how these people are coping with the changing landscape — what pains them, what worries them, and what they're striving for," says producer Liu Dongxiao.

The production team members connected with franchisee communities where they met Mu Yichen, a seasoned franchise operator.

In 2012, Mu opened his first CoCo bubble tea store, branch of a Taiwan franchise. Over the years, he expanded his portfolio to 500 stores across various franchises at peak operation. His business flourished only to crumble in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Determined to share both his success strategies and hard-learned lessons, Mu launched a franchise training program with partners last November.

To date, over 10,000 aspiring entrepreneurs have sought his advice.

"About 70 percent of these potential franchisees have absolutely no prior business experience," Mu notes.

He observes that China's franchise industry has reached massive scale.

"We're talking about a trillion-yuan industry with millions of participants. Yet, no one has systematically educated newcomers about industry norms. This creates an unfair environment where inexperienced investors often make blind, costly decisions."

He's now committed to leading collective self-help efforts within this community.

"In this business, we learn through failure," reflects fellow franchisee Zhao Baoli.

Zhao, who collaborates with Mu to expand their support network, remains cautiously optimistic: "We want to overcome these challenges and reveal the true realities of franchising to the public, while maintaining hope. After weathering the storm, beautiful scenery awaits those who persist in this industry we love."

The documentary captures how these individual franchise owners are banding together, supporting one another to navigate a path forward. In this volatile business landscape, they're collectively seeking solutions to survive and thrive.

Over the past four decades, despite the country's remarkable economic ascent, many ordinary, or even disheartening, stories have gone untold. Yet today, as many people feel the pressure of life, the documentary seeks to shine a light on how people persevere and break through adversity, explains Liu, the producer.

Douban user Douyouhaiyou observes that the documentary's focus on ordinary people shatters the romanticized notion of "industry transformation".

"Instead, I think it reveals how the country's economic lifeblood truly flows through these everyday individuals — flawed, uncertain, yet persistently pushing forward against all odds," the user posted.