Founded in 2006, Gong Cha is a premium tea shop franchise that offers a wide variety of sweet milk tea and tea drinks infused with pearl-shaped tapioca. With a mission to provide customers with the best quality of tea and service, Gong Cha has established itself as one of the world’s premier bubble tea brands. It is currently operating in 1,900 locations across 22 countries.
The origin of Gong Cha can be traced back to Taiwan where it was first established in Kaohsiung in 2006 by two friends with a shared goal of creating superior-quality proprietary tea blends and beverages. The brand’s commitment to excellence has never wavered, and its focus on delivering the highest-quality teas and tea drink products continues today.
After its initial success in Taiwan, Gong Cha quickly expanded to Hong Kong and eventually a wide global reach that includes China, South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. The company’s dedication to its roots and passion for brewing the most authentic tea is what drives Gong Cha’s success worldwide.
Gong Cha is currently expanding its presence in the US, with a growing number of store openings and new locations planned for the coming year. To support this expansion, Gong Cha is looking to add strong leaders to its corporate and American leadership teams.
Henry comes to Gong Cha with an impressive track record of building and growing large and complex organizations in the food & beverage industry. Most recently, he led the turnaround of Jamba Juice to return the business to growth and profitability, before successfully integrating the business into a larger, more focused organization at Focus Brands.
Prior to Jamba Juice, Henry was president of Yogurtland, where he worked tirelessly to turn around the business and grow the brand’s global presence. He is a proven leader who is passionate about driving top-line sales and increasing brand equity through innovative marketing programs and robust innovation pipelines.
The Gong Cha store in Palo Alto opened in mid-February, bringing another much-needed bubble tea option to the city’s downtown. The massive Taiwanese milk tea chain operates nearly 300 stores in Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, but the new downtown location is the only California branch.
Gong Cha is known for its signature drinks, which are served in small and medium sizes. A popular option is the Gong Cha Milk Green Tea, which consists of a lower layer of green tea covered by an upper layer of special creamer. Gong Cha also serves a variety of other drinks, such as iced coffee and the Creative Mix (milk tea with various toppings), as well as snacks like mochi waffles. The company also sells its own Gong Cha-branded tea at its stores.
