The Philippines’ love for milk tea is widely known, with many stores, both locally-grown and from abroad putting up shop in the country over the past several years. One such store is Tealive, a Malaysian milk tea brand that started in 2017 and put up its first store in the Philippines in 2022.
In only 4 years, Tealive has already opened 70 stores, the latest of which is located at Fiesta Carnival, Araneta City, just across the Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Tealive’s origin is Malaysia. We have about 800 stores there and in 2022, Tealive’s owner, Brian Loo, started Tealive in the Philippines. Majority of our stores are in Metro Manila but we also have stores in Cebu, Sta. Rosa, Batangas, Pampanga, and Bulacan. We are hoping to open 100 stores in the country by early next year,” General Manager for International Franchise Mario Malalis shared.
Tealive offers a wide variety of drinks, not just milk tea. It also serves frappes, fruit juices, coffee-based drinks, chocolate drinks, and matcha-based drinks. True to its name however, Tealive takes pride in its tea-based drinks. “We use a proprietary tea blend for our beverages. We also formulate and produce in house our own tapioca balls for our bubble tea. All of these come from Malaysia,” Malalis said.
The wide range of drink offerings are supplemented by seasonal special beverages that are sold for a limited time. These beverages were designed to fit the time of the year and tailored to appeal to the changing preferences of Filipino milk tea drinkers. “Every 6 months, we have a limited-time offering. To celebrate the opening of our 70th branch, we are launching the Hokkaido Melon line of drinks which we feel perfectly fit the festive spirit of Christmas,” Malalis said.
The Hokkaido Melon drinks come in either Chocolate, Bubble Milk Tea, or Frappe version and the drink can be paired with a side order of food at a significant discount. These can be enjoyed with BBQ Mushroom Overload Fries for only P50 additional or a Luncheon Meat and Egg Toastea for only P80.
This separates Tealive from most milk tea shops as it serves food which goes along with their drinks. “We provide not only beverages but also food. So, if you buy a drink, you can also buy our snacks. We are known for our Toasteas which are sandwiches with different fillings. Because of this, we have stores that are full sit-down stores where people can come in, have a seat and enjoy their food and beverage pairing comfortably,” Malalis noted.
