How CHAGEE turned menu cuts into a growth engine across Asia
At the core of CHAGEE’s strategy is an effort to reposition tea as a lifestyle product.
CHAGEE is sharpening its focus on a single-product strategy and Gen Z engagement as it accelerates expansion across Asia following its Nasdaq listing.
Speaking at the QSR Media Asia Conference & Awards 2026, Eugene Lee, CMO APAC at CHAGEE, outlined how the brand’s decision to streamline its menu to milk tea was a pivotal move that enabled scale and operational discipline.
“In the early days, about 60% of our portfolio was fruit teas,” Lee said. “We made a policy decision to focus on one single product—milk tea—and the reason was scale.”
The move, implemented in 2021 alongside a brand refresh, marked a shift away from a broad, fragmented menu toward a more standardised, scalable model.
Since then, CHAGEE has expanded rapidly—from its founding in Kunming, China, in 2017 to more than 8,000 outlets globally in 2025.
Lee emphasised that CHAGEE’s growth was not driven by a single decision but by a broader evolution in how the company approaches strategy.
“Startups tend to grow by doing many things at once,” he said. “At some point, you have to pause, step back, and ask why you’re doing something—what’s the strategic purpose behind it?"
This shift toward more deliberate decision-making has underpinned the company’s ability to scale across markets whilst maintaining consistency.
At the core of CHAGEE’s strategy is an effort to reposition tea as a lifestyle product—an area where Lee sees a clear gap compared to coffee.
“Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, but it hasn’t had the same lifestyle positioning that coffee has,” he said.
The brand is addressing this through store design, packaging, and branding initiatives, including its modern teahouse concept and globally standardised packaging rolled out in recent years.
Despite its standardised approach, CHAGEE is adapting elements of its proposition to suit local markets, guided by three pillars: culture, well-being, and localisation.
Lee pointed to market-specific strategies such as promoting low-sugar options in Malaysia, whilst in South Korea, which will open this April, the brand is placing greater emphasis on mental well-being themes.
For CHAGEE, the next phase of growth hinges on capturing younger consumers.
“With tea, we need to win Gen Z,” Lee said. “We focus on social media because that’s where our customers are, where the next generation is, and where conversations are happening.”
The company’s marketing strategy is heavily weighted toward digital platforms, reflecting a broader shift in QSR toward social-led brand building and customer engagement.
Following its Nasdaq listing in April 2025, CHAGEE has accelerated its regional expansion, entering Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, with South Korea next in line.
