Gong Cha facts for kids
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| Industry | Food and beverage |
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| Founded | 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
| Headquarters | , |
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Key people
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Wu Zhenhua (吳振華) (Founder) Martin Berry (CEO) |
| Parent | Gong Cha Korea (70%) Gong Cha Global (30%) |
Gong Cha (Chinese: 貢茶; pinyin: Gòngchá) is a tea drink franchise founded in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Gong Cha expanded to Hong Kong in 2006, and by 2012 had further expanded internationally to Macau, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, and China.
Name
The name is a combination of the Chinese characters “貢,” meaning contribution or tribute, and “茶,” referring to tea. Together meaning "Tribute tea".
History
Founded in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Gong Cha, which translates to “tribute tea for the emperor” opened its doors into a highly saturated bubble tea market. Gong Cha's first Hong Kong store was established in 2009 by a Hong Kong native who had lived in Taiwan for five years. As of 2012, it had about forty-six stores in Hong Kong, mainly in MTR stations and shopping centers but that number has dropped to five due to decreased business from several health and safety scandals. Gong Cha serves a total of about fifty-seven different drinks, which can be divided into seven types: house specials, brewed tea, milk tea, "Creative Mix", coffee, "Healthy Series", and ice smoothies. They also offer drinks in medium and large sizes. The most popular one in Hong Kong is "Gong Cha Milk Green Tea", containing a lower layer of brewed tea covered by an upper layer of special creamer. Gong Cha also offers tea sets and tea in stores, such as Bi-Luo-Chun Green Tea and Darjeeling Spring Tea. In some locations they also offer food, a new recent addition being "Mochi Waffles".
In 2017, 70% of ownership was sold to Kim Yeo-jin (金汝貞), owner of Gong Cha Korea, Gong Cha's Korea franchisee, with backing from private equity firm Unison Capital. In January 2017, Gong Cha's main headquarters was acquired by Gong Cha Korea. CEO Kim Soo-Min has announced plans to reach out into the Middle East and Latin America, while promising to "change everything but the taste".
In 2019, TA Associates agreed to provide growth investment to Gong Cha and later bought 100% of Gong Cha Korea. UK company GC Group BIDCO Limited bought the remaining 30% in the same year, with GC Group BIDCO renamed to Gong Cha Global in 2020, moving the global headquarters to UK.
Rebranding in Singapore
On 29 May 2017, it was announced that all 80+ Gong Cha stores will be closed and replaced with another brand, Liho.
However, Gong Cha's Singapore Branch announced its return on 1 December 2017.
