Top South East Asian lifestyle tea brand Tealive has landed in North America through its first store in downtown Ottawa, Canada last week. The outlet opened to queues of tea lovers in the Canadian capital eager to check out the unique menu of drinks and food offered by this Malaysian brand.
Loob Holding Sdn Bhd founder and CEO Bryan Loo said Tealive has been focused on expanding in South East Asia and was not particularly targeting North America until it was approached by an established business group involved in running pastry and bakery businesses. “We’re convinced that our chosen local partner in Canada will be a good fit as they have over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage segment.”
Loo said the partner was committed to open 50 outlets in the next five years across Canada. “This entry into Canada and planned expansion across the country will give us an opportunity to learn more about the North American market up close. So, we may tap into the lucrative US market next,” he said. “Our partners have travelled to South East Asia where they’ve been exposed to Tealive. They like our brand’s reach, our format being scalable with many store sizes and that we’re in petrol stations. They are impressed with our focus on the drive-through market as drive-throughs are a staple in the North American market. They recognise our versatile business model and are sure this would be an ideal format for a Western market like the US.
“They are convinced that Tealive is a unique offering in the boba market in line with our brand promise of ‘Always More Than Tea’. Tealive has an extremely wide range of drinks in our portfolio and also our current extension into food through Tealive Eats. “You can see that we have a food menu that sets us apart from the typical pearl milk tea industry. Our Canadian launch menu is indeed innovative and exciting with the drinks and food that are curated for local palates without compromising our unique Tealive breakthrough experience,” Loo added.
Tealive’s brand promise of “Always More Than Tea” can be seen in the wide range of speciality coffees, signature toasteas and artisanal food that are suitable for different times of the day. The brand has also extended the menu into Mac & Cheese, fried snacks and offer value meals and combos macarons, pastries and cakes. The grand opening saw the store at Somerset Street downtown being swamped by eager boba lovers. Gracing the occasion were local influencers like Eric Chan of Ottawa Nibbles, Melissa of Mels Hangry Table, Allie of YumYumYow, Marilou of 20ys and Anglea of Anglea Bites. Loo is bullish on the potential of the global bubble tea market and wants to position Loob to be prepared to ride the next wave.
“According to leading market research firm Facts and Factors, the Global Bubble Tea Market size was valued at around US$2.1 billion in 2020 and is estimated to grow to about US$4.5 billion by 2026, at a compounded annual growth rate of 8.1% between 2021 and 2026,” he said. “Tealive is known as the brand that’s ‘Born in Malaysia, Raised for the World’. Now, thanks to our millions of customers in 10 countries, we’re truly global as we’re present in five Continents,” he quipped.
