Before milk tea became a craze in the Philippines, Johnlu Koa, founder of Chatime Philippines, already saw it coming.
“Five years before tea became such a big thing, I already knew it was coming,” Koa says. At the time, most people were still fixated on lemon iced tea, but he was already thinking beyond it. “I asked Nestea why, for 15 years, they were doing the same lemon tea,” he recalls. “I was asking for white tea, green tea, red tea, black tea — and they did not do anything.”
Rather than wait around, Koa looked elsewhere. While traveling, he discovered Chatime, a fast-growing Taiwanese tea brand with a strong presence in Hong Kong. He immediately saw its potential and decided to make a move.
“I pitched to the Chatime people,” he says. “They came and saw me — and they gave me the brand.”
So what convinced Chatime to say yes? Koa’s pitch wasn’t just based on passion — it was backed by strategy. “I promised them that the moment you give me the brand, I will open stores from north to west of EDSA,” he says. True to his word, he launched multiple stores within the first two years, planting the seeds for a national milk tea movement.
Koa also knew how to position milk tea for the Filipino market. While tea was traditionally tied to Chinese culture, he saw milk tea as a modern, refreshing alternative to coffee — something that could tap into the same lifestyle appeal as frappuccinos.
“This is where my teaching comes in handy,” says Koa, a former professor. “What is your basic strategy? You should understand your core strategy.”
The takeaway:
Spotting a trend is one thing. Acting on it early — with vision, planning, and execution — is what separates good entrepreneurs from great ones. Johnlu Koa didn’t just ride the milk tea wave. He helped bring it to shore.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
