Milktea analytics: Gong Cha vs. Chagee
From Taiwan to Troy: How Gong Cha Built a Global Community Around the Classical Taste
“Gongcha is my life-saver in downtown Troy,” said a student walking down the street from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Originating from Taiwan in 2006, GongCha has developed itself into a global bubble tea franchise with a worldwide audience.
How could a brand do that without any predecessors or experiences to learn from?
The company applied a franchise-based model where the U.S. market is divided into territories, each with regional developers who oversee and support local franchisees. Franchisees run individual stores under strict brand and quality guidelines that follow the main company’s vision of “premium quality, customizable drinks, and a global tea culture that invites community and exploration.” This model helps spread GongCha stores around the world, expanding the awareness of the milk tea brand while maintaining the size of its employee base.
One of them is here, in downtown Troy.
“Troy, NY is a great fit for that vision. It’s a small city with a vibrant, diverse population and a strong student presence thanks to RPI and other local colleges,” The store owner happily shared. In order to be more welcoming to the student body, the store has also added casual seating, fast service, and reliable Wi-Fi for students to easily work, date, chat, and quickly take-and-go in the common area of the store.
Choices of drinks on the menu are based on global trends, regional preferences, and monitored feedback and sales. “Seasonal drinks are rotated about four times a year—some popular ones include Strawberry Cheesecake Milk Tea in the spring, Pineapple Delight series in the summer, and Pumpkin Pie Milk Tea in the winter,” the owner said, “[Due to Troy’s geographic location in the colder area of the U.S.] warm drinks with a bit of spice or comfort factor do well here than anywhere else.”
Gif from Gong Cha
Picture from Business Journal
As a franchisee, the store has faced countless challenges, the most memorable being finding and retaining well-trained staff during peak season and maintaining a supply of specific bubble tea ingredients. To combat that, the franchisee shared, “We created a strong internal culture and offered flexible hours, and we’ve optimized our ordering schedule and built relationships with the warehouse to avoid shortages.”
With a heavy reliance on technology and digital outreach, the store collaborated with local influencers, built loyalty programs, and became available on Uber Eats and DoorDash for online orders. That encouraged more customers from the surrounding suburban area to easily access and purchase milk tea while reducing in-store foot traffic.
As a milk tea brand that has started relatively early in the U.S. market, they maintained their traditional style that includes customized choices in sugar and ice levels, alternative milk options, and traditional toppings (like pearls or coconut jelly). Additionally, GongCha also “keeps an open ear to customer feedback—sometimes regulars suggest flavor combinations they loved back home, and we’ll try to recreate those as custom drinks or staff picks. That back-and-forth with the community really builds loyalty.”
One of the most well-known modifications of the brand in recent days was the XL drink. “The XL drinks are really about value and flexibility. In Troy, a lot of our customers are students or young professionals who are on the go and want a drink that lasts a while or can be shared. ”the franchisee added, “XL sizes also let people customize with more toppings without worrying about space. We noticed that especially during study season, people come in for that “one big drink” to last them through their library session or group study.”
So with constant modification in style, taste, and “sizes”, the GongCha store was definitely a success in not only upstate newyork, but the whole world. With open eyes and ears, loyalty comes easily.
Regardless of the brand’s trials in seasonal favorites, the mostly original taste of milk tea in Taiwan was well maintained in GongCha stores around the world. In this battle of “traditional vs. innovation”, Starbucks and GongCha follow the same criteria, whereas new innovations like Chagee also attract new customers who love the new taste.
“I love Gong Cha! During the school year, I had it once a week/two weeks. I love having a fun drink because it helps me to get through my classes and finals,” said Kate McMahon, a senior at Emma Willard School.
So Gong Cha, the continuously evolving brand that preserves the original taste, reminds communities that even in the rush of the year, there’s comfort in the familiar taste of sweetness.
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