In 2010, Bryan Loo launched Malaysia's first-ever Chatime outlet.

Within just a few years, it had rapidly grown into one of the country’s leading milk tea chains, boasting over 150 stores nationwide across Malaysia.

We’re all told being an entrepreneur is tough—but who would have imagined that after building Chatime into a leading chain in the country, they’d have to do it again on their own with another brand.

One day, Bryan’s company received unexpected news: Chatime’s Taiwanese parent company, La Kaffa International, terminated their franchise agreement, citing alleged breaches of contract.

Crazy? It was.

The termination sparked weeks of public drama, legal battles, and accusations between Bryan’s company and La Kaffa International.

‍

🧋 Bouncing back

But in less than 50 days, Bryan bounced back with a new brand—a brand of his own, called Tealive.

Bryan quickly converted 150+ former Chatime outlets into Tealive, personally overseeing the process alongside franchisees, many of whom were friends and family.

At the time, you’d be surprised to visit your usual Chatime in Malaysia to see the same people, similar drinks, but a different name—Tealive.

That major shift happened in 2017. But Bryan didn’t know that it would just be the beginning.

‍

💜 Creating something of your own

When you think of Chatime, you think of bubble tea—milk tea with pearls. But with Tealive, Bryan wanted things to be different.

He wanted the focus to be tea-based beverages—with pearls or without pearls, milk tea, smoothies, and unique drink blends too.

They were here to build a tea-drinking culture for the modern age.

Time for innovation. With their own local Malaysian brand, they could collaborate deeply with local brands, have more relevant local promotions, and even set up their own R&D center.

That's why Tealive has since collaborated with prominent local companies, including Malaysian auto unicorn Carsome.

Tealive even invested RM10 million to establish Malaysia's first dedicated tapioca pearl factory, producing 300 tonnes monthly—enough to supply their stores and export globally, especially catering to halal markets.

‍

⭐️ Turning crisis into opportunity

It’s been many years since the company lost the Malaysia Chatime franchise.

Today, Tealive operates over 800 stores globally, expanding well beyond Malaysia to Southeast Asia, Australia, the UK, and even Canada.

And Bryan has expanded well beyond Tealive, building a portfolio of successful F&B brands such as Bask Bear Coffee, Sodaxpress, and WonderBrew.