For Avin Ong, founder and CEO of Macao Imperial Tea Philippines, growth has never been just about numbers — it’s about people.
“When we talk about vision, it’s not just about profit,” Ong says. “It’s about taking good care of the brand.”
That mindset has shaped how he’s built one of the fastest-growing milk tea franchises in the country. And it starts with who he lets in.
Ong is selective about franchise partners. Not because of ego — but because he knows one wrong decision can hurt everything. “A good franchisee must have integrity,” he says. “Someone who knows how to do things right. We’ve seen franchisees violate agreements. We avoid growing business relationships with people like that.”
Instead of chasing rapid expansion, Ong builds with trust. The best franchisees? They’re hands-on, supportive, and aligned with the brand’s values. “Some of our most successful partners now have 30 to 40 branches,” he says. “But it started with real passion.”
Ong believes every franchisee should treat the business like their own — because it is. “If you really love the brand, you have to be the one managing the store,” he says. “You need to have a heart.”
And that personal approach is paying off. “Some of our partners started with one branch — doing everything themselves, from HR to accounting. Now they’ve built real companies just to run their stores. That’s fulfilling.”
It’s proof that franchising isn’t just about scaling — it’s about scaling with the right people.
The bottom line: Growth doesn’t come from saying yes to everyone. For Ong, real success is about protecting the brand — and building with people who believe in it as much as he does.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
