Tealive, a Southeast Asian tea chain, is expanding into Manila. Bryan Loo, CEO of Loob Holding, told A+M that the Philippines is the company’s first market launch with its new private equity partner, Creador. He believes that the Filipinos in Southeast Asia are major fans of milk tea beverages, and he and Creador have come to an agreement to join this market and establish the next well-loved native milk tea brand, using Creador’s enormous local resources in the Philippines. Tealive is introducing the Aren Palm Sugar Series as part of its entry into this new market. The Aren Palm Sugar Series is described as sweet and savoury, and Loo claims that the drink’s thick texture requires it to be flipped over to mix the ingredients. It will also be promoted as a healthier alternative to table sugar and honey, with a glycemic index of 35, and ingredients that are better than brown sugar.
“Aren highlights the company’s distinct selling point as a tropics-based brand. The Aren pinnata palm tree, which is native to Asia including Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, produces an all-natural sweetness called aren palm. The ingredient for Tealive’s latest sugar series is obtained straight from Borneo,” said Loo.
Tealive has launched the concept of “Welcome to the Flip Life” to market its new sugar series in the Philippines, with an emphasis on “The Flip”, which Loo described as a serving ritual that creatively blends the drink ingredients. Tealive will emphasise the sugar pouring across the cup when the drink is flipped to create the trademark lava effect in its marketing efforts.
The company also appointed Mike Dumaual to lead its operation as General Manager. Dumaual will be leading the charge on business operations across the Philippines, including store expansion strategy and boosting the Tealive brand to be the Philippines’ favourite lifestyle tea brand, according to the Southeast Asian tea chain’s LinkedIn post. Meanwhile, Dumaual has over 22 years of marketing and brand management expertise in the F&B and FMCG sectors, working for companies like Mang Inasal, Jollibee, and Burger King.
“Knowing how milk tea-crazy this country is, I’m ecstatic to spearhead Tealive’s spectacular launch into the Philippine market. Our goal is to make it more than simply a milk tea player; we want to make it a prominent and respected F&B lifestyle brand that Filipinos will enjoy,” he said.
