Anchal Lamba and her family have always loved bubble tea, a famous drink in Taiwan made with tea, milk, and tapioca pearls. When her father came from a business trip to Hong Kong in 2012, he told her he just tasted the best bubble tea ever at Gong Cha.
Having known that, Lamba immediately sought franchising rights from the Taiwan-based company. It took her two years before she got to convince the company.
"There were no Gong Cha stores here in the US, they weren't familiar with the US market, they weren't familiar with us. First of all, we aren't Asians so they thought, you know, 'Okay, we're not sure if they can actually promote the brand here as much as maybe a Chinese or Taiwanese applicant could,'" Lamba said in an interview with Entrepreneur.
"So it took some convincing, we were persistent. So within those two years, we didn't really leave them alone. And I think they found out that because we were so passionate, we would be good applicants to open stores here in the US for them," she continued.
Her persistence definitely paid off. In April 2014, they opened the first Gong Cha franchise in Flushing, Queens in New York. To this day, there are 24 outlets of Gong Cha within 4 states: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Texas. And they still continue in expanding and opening in other locations.
Lamba believes that her being really passionate about bubble tea is what brought her success. She thinks it could also apply to those who want to open a franchise of their own. She said, "Finding a brand that you can really relate to and you're passionate about will take you far. And as long as you put the hard work into it, you could make it happen."
For more details about Gong Cha USA, visit www.gongchausa.com
