With colourful, Instagram-friendly drinks filled with fruit pieces, boba pearls and cute logos, Wang, whose Chinese brand is backed by Tencent and ByteDance, is among an influx of Chinese tea brand entrepreneurs betting they have what it takes to convert young American coffee and matcha drinkers.
“The US is a developing country in terms of bubble tea,” Wang told Reuters, adding that the US-centric brand is sweeter than what Ningji offers in China. Another concession needed to be made to the pace of doing business in America, where it’s impossible to open a store within 20 days of signing a contract, as she does in China.
“Doing business here (in the US) is quite different from what we imagined in our heads. It took seven months to open the store, which was quite painful,” Wang said, adding that she has a ten-year plan for cautious expansion in the US.
Despite the challenges, companies from Chagee Tea House, Chahalo, Molly Tea and Auntea Jenny buoyed by their success in China’s modern tea-drink market and propelled by flavour innovations, fresh brands and rapid store rollouts, have within the last year opened US stores or announced expansions. Mixue, which has leveraged its $1 fruit teas to become the world’s largest food and beverage chain by stores, with over 53 000 locations globally, announced a ten-year storefront lease in New York City in September.
–Reuters–
