Chatime’s Australian expansion highlights growth of Asian franchises

Taiwanese tea specialist Chatime has launched in Australia, adding to the growing Asian influence within the Australian franchising sector.

Chatime – which has more than 500 stores globally, including 42 Australian outlets – is looking to have almost 60 stores across the country by the end of the year.

Chatime’s Iris Qian told Franchising the company will implement a campaign to position its beverages as a healthier, more convenient alternative to coffee and soft drinks.

“Our unique tea brewing techniques, including tea espresso and tea latte, deliver an authentic fresh tea experience,” Qian said.

Chatime offers a variety of teas including the Taiwanese-grown oolong tea and bubble tea, which features flavoured tapioca pearls.

More franchised stores are planned for Sydney, with a flagship in the pipeline. Queensland, Victoria and South Australia are also ripe for further expansion.

Chatime isn’t the only Asian franchise making waves in Australia. Here’s two more:

MOS Burger

In June last year, Japanese gourmet burger chain MOS Burger unveiled plans to open multiple Australian outlets.

MOS Burger was launched in Tokyo in the early 1970s, and now has more than 1,630 outlets across Asia. MOS is an acronym for Mountain, Ocean, Sun.

Shinji Yamaguchi, MOS Burger head of international operations, said at the time it made sense to select Australia as the company’s first target market outside of Asia.

“After Asia, our target was Australia because it is close to Asia and there are a lot of Asian people there. We have a plan to go to Europe and the US and Canada,” he said.

“Before that, Australia is a very important country as a test run. That’s why we decided to open shops in Australia before going to other western countries.”

Secret Recipe

Malaysian cafe chain Secret Recipe announced in April last year it is on the lookout for potential franchisees across Australia, having already established a presence in Melbourne.

With outlets in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and China, Secret Recipe’s menu is inspired by three different cuisines: Asian classics, popular western food and fusion cooking.

At the time, Australia-based Secret Recipe director Ming Low said the company plans to open at least three new outlets each year.

He said its expansion will be throughout Victoria and extend to NSW, Queensland and WA.

“Franchising is the engine of growth and now is the right time for us to expand in the Australian marketplace,” he said.

“Since first opening in Melbourne, we have quickly realised our concept best suits a shopping centre environment because of the family-friendly shop design and value-for-money menu offering, so they are the types of venue we will target.”