SINGAPORE: Bubble tea chain Gong Cha will be bowing out of Singapore after food and beverage group RTG Holdings decided not to continue its franchise here.
However, all Gong Cha outlets will sport a new name and look from Jun 5 this year, RTG announced in a press release on Monday (May 29).
Its new name is LiHO, which means “How are you?” in Hokkien. The new brand aims to design “unique tea drinks catered to local taste buds”, and also support other homegrown businesses by using locally-sourced ingredients, said RTG Holdings’ managing director Rodney Tang.
Among its new products is cheese tea, which has “cheese mix” blended fresh milk, then scooped atop drinks such as Ovaltine or yam smoothies.
From left: Cheese Jing Syuan tea, Cheese Ovaltine Smoothie, Cheese Yam Smoothie from LiHO Singapore. (Photos: LiHO)
LiHO is RTG Holdings’ first homegrown foray into the F&B industry, it said in the press release. The company has invested about S$1 million on rolling out all 80 stores in a month. Selected outfits will have power points and USB ports for customers to charge their devices while waiting for their drinks.
“Having acquired eight years of experience, it has been my desire to eventually start a homegrown tea brand. Tea drinking is an Asian pastime, and in Singapore we have our own way of drinking tea. Instead of using the recipes of others, I wanted to carve our own niche,” said Mr Tang.
RTG Holdings is also the company behind NeNe Chicken, Paik’s Bibim, Paik’s Coffee, Bornga, Tino’s Pizza and Woo Ricebox in Singapore.
