New bubble tea player Cai Ca replaces 6 Gong Cha outlets

Mr Kang told Shin Min that he and his team drew on their past experience to establish Cai Ca and identified two main directions for growth. 

The first was to launch healthier beverages based on the Nutri-Grade labelling system. The second was to introduce snacks that could be paired with the drinks. Nutri-Grade labels have been compulsory for freshly made beverages since Dec 30, 2023, with the healthiest drinks graded “A” and those with the highest sugar and/or saturated fat content getting a “D”.

In October, Gong Cha shut its outlets in Singapore but said it would relaunch in 2026 with new local franchisees as part of a global “Gong Cha 2.0” revamp.

Founded in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Gong Cha expanded into Singapore in 2009. It briefly exited the Singapore market in June 2017, with its outlets here replaced by homegrown bubble tea brand LiHo.

It returned to the Singapore market a few months later under a different franchisee in December 2017. Mr Kang, who co-founded the Mr Bean soy milk chain, was responsible for bringing Gong Cha back to Singapore.

According to its website, Gong Cha had 29 outlets in Singapore.