Shaking up the tea drinking scene, the brain behind the largest lifestyle tea chain in Southeast Asia, Bryan Loo champions the business as an extension of his passion and commitment to achieving positive outcomes. Now known as one of the leaders in tea drinks, Malaysian brand Tealive branches to even more outlets across the globe.

In an exclusive interview for Pairfect on 19 April, hosted by DAILY TRIBUNE’s managing and lifestyle editor Dinah Ventura, Loo shared his journey to success.

Saturated by coffee shops, Loo said the beverage scene in Southeast Asia is focused on caffeine-heavy drinks, so he started Tealive to hop onto the synergy. For over a decade, a representation for the decaf category had plateaued, not until his started his plan of taking over the food and drink field.

With over 60 stores in the country, the global beverage brand envisions a hundred stores in the Philippines by the end of the third quarter of the current year. Assisting the tea-drinking culture in parts of the world dominated by coffee shops and caffeine-centric stores, Loo is beyond elated that Tealive came into fruition as the “eastern Starbucks,” a term coined by Tealive drink enthusiasts.

“Tealive owns the largest consumer application in Malaysia. We have a direct consumer line, now close to four million members. With this, about 45-percent have been transacting on a monthly basis. Every month there are one to two million people transacting on our application, only through virtual experience. Which means we allow our customers to have milk tea at four o’clock, they can order in the outlet or on their phone and pick it up and through delivery at their place,” Loo prides the brand’s innovative approach on delivery service.

Fascination with beverages is what pushed Loo to start the brand, exerting his willingness to strive as Tealive jibes through the tea drinking culture of Asian consumers. When asked about his perception of local drinks, Loo stated that Asia has the best to offer the world and it is a constant discovery.

Loo shares his thoughts of the archipelago’s local flavor, “A lot of our ingredients are sourced from the local market. We tried a variety of local coffee beans, as well. I love coffee beans a lot here, yours taste more delicious than Malaysia’s. There’s a lot of brands popping up lately, not just in the Philippines but throughout Southeast Asia.”

Intertwining business and the love for beverages, Loo explained the birth of food and beverage trailblazer, LOOB Holdings.

“LOOB Holdings is the leading beverage company in Malaysia — we have four key portfolios under it, we have Tealive, which is the most important portfolio and the largest milk-tea brand in Southeast Asia. Also, Bask Bear Coffee, Malaysia’s number one coffee brand… it’s under one group, and we have LOOB Ventures that invested in all restaurants, Chinese dining, Hot Pots, Japanese outlets, focusing entirely on food and managed by separate general manager.”

LOOB Holdings includes brands such as Sodaxpress, WonderBrew, other beverage collaborations and joints. It continues to spread joy in cups and has its eye on the world.

Moreover, Loo has a message to all individuals that are experiencing hardships in their brands, especially in the food and beverage scene, “Whether it’s art, fashion, product and branding, it’s all about finding the beauty in these things. From what I’ve learned with my life, I firmly stand behind the philosophy, that we should think big in what we are trying to do, but we should put our foot down and start small. So, as we grind in and develop, we will scale fast.”

Tealive is now available to download through digital stores and you can have your milk tea of choice in all outlets across the Philippines via their official handles @tealiveph and @tealiveasia on all social media platforms.