Gong cha eyes small Aussie towns

It is eyeing towns like Toowoomba and Dubbo for expansion.

Whilst major Australian cities are flooded with bubble tea chains competing for mall and high-street dominance, Gong cha is targeting a less obvious battleground—regional towns.

The Taiwanese-born chain is setting up branches in the countryside to cement its dominance as the biggest bubble tea chain in Australia by store count. It now has 172 stores and eight more slated to open by year-end.

“We’ve recently opened in Bathurst, and that store is one of our top 20 stores amongst our network,” Lili Shi, company director at Gong cha Australia, told QSR Media. 

“That was unexpected because it’s not a big city—it’s very localised,” she said via Zoom. “This shows the great potential in regional stores.”

The company is eyeing towns like Toowoomba and Dubbo for expansion, which will depend on the available and suitable real estate.

“It’s not about whether we or the franchisee is ready; it’s about whether we can find a great location that suits our product,” Shi said. “And sometimes, that takes time.”

Gong cha is also exploring micro-store formats such as in universities, airports, and train stations. Shi noted that their compact store at Martin Place Metro, which they opened late last year, “sees really good foot traffic and has been performing really well.”

The company is also using innovation, having recently launched its mocktail range, created with heritage wine label Brown Brothers. 

“We’ve observed that more people are looking for alcohol-free options that still feel special, and we saw the chance to create something sophisticated and fun that can be enjoyed with friends and totally on trend,” Shi said.

The drink, based on Brown Brothers’ Zero Alcohol series, features de-alcoholised Moscato served in a tea base.

“We all know mocktails can be insanely expensive,” Shi said. “But we wanted to make something that is premium and still costs under $10.”

The mocktails can’t be customised, and because it’s the first of its kind, Gong cha wants customers to taste the “intended balance,” she said. “Once people get it, we might reintroduce customisations. That will be the next phase of the collaboration.”

Shi said they are open to offering more topping options, depending on customer demand. “We were looking at adding different toppings to the drinks, which included gummy bears and fruit pieces.”