By LU Yibei

Chinese bubble tea chain Heytea has opened its first store outside Asia in London. Located in Chinatown, the store received more than 200 orders from its WeChat mini-program within four minutes of opening, way beyond the little store’s capacity

One London-based bubble addict said on the social media platform Xiaohongshu that he placed orders both at the store and on the mini-program and then waited for four hours without getting his beverage. 

Heytea said the store had been overwhelmed by the number of orders and claimed that the whole power system of the entire building had been broken by the massive demand for tea.

Before Heytea arrived, what milk-tea market there was in London was primarily dominated by Taiwan-based brands and single stores. The London store is pretty similar to the stores in China, offering 23 different beverages.

For brands like Heytea with little overseas knowledge, expanding overseas means franchising. Heytea began looking for overseas business partners in early March, so commencing operations in August is a reasonably swift outcome.  

But judging from the fiasco of complaints on the first day in Chinatown, the Heytea bubble still has plenty of room to expand in London.