Left Wall Street to sell bubble tea and became a tycoon, taking Taiwan's "Gong Cha" global.
Gong Cha’s global founder and chairman, Martin Berry, shared his entrepreneurial journey on CNBC, detailing how he gave up a lucrative senior position in the banking industry to enter the bubble tea market and promote Taiwan’s local brand internationally. Currently, Gong Cha has over 2,000 stores in 30 countries worldwide, with annual sales reaching $578 million, making it one of the most successful examples of a local Asian brand expanding globally.
Starting his career before graduating from university
Martin Berry’s career began with ambitious early planning. At age 19, he started working full-time at a corporation. He chose to attend night school and take university courses on weekends, accumulating extensive practical experience by the time he graduated at 21. In his twenties, he worked at international financial institutions such as Citibank, Barclays, and Standard Chartered, managing assets worth trillions of dollars. Despite his achievements in finance, he felt constrained by traditional corporate structures and maintained a passion for entrepreneurship. In 2011, he noticed long lines outside Gong Cha stores in Singapore. From a financier’s perspective, he saw that bubble tea business models had low costs and high profit potential, leading him to resign from his high-paying job and venture into the pearl milk tea industry, which was considered risky by mainstream finance at the time.
Gaining franchise rights in Taiwan and shining in Korea
In June 2011, Martin went to Taiwan to acquire franchise rights. In 2012, he and his wife opened their first store in Hongdae, Seoul, investing about $2.5 million of their savings. They rapidly expanded to five stores within a short period. His core competitive strategy was “location leveraging,” placing stores next to well-known chains like Starbucks to attract existing coffee consumers. With extensive exposure on social media, large queues appeared in front of the stores, attracting cooperation offers from major Korean department stores and signing agreements with Hyundai Motor to open kiosks. This shift from company-operated stores to franchising allowed Gong Cha to grow from a single store to 300 outlets within three years, successfully establishing its leadership position in the Asian market.
Reverse acquisition of the Taiwanese parent company
As the business expanded, Gong Cha entered a capitalized phase. In 2014, private equity firm UCK Partners acquired controlling interest in Gong Cha Korea. In 2017, Martin led a “reverse acquisition,” where the Korean subsidiary bought back the Taiwanese parent company. This capital injection provided more resources for the brand and accelerated its expansion into Western markets such as the United States and Mexico. In 2019, globally renowned private equity fund TA Associates acquired the majority stake in Gong Cha, with Martin continuing to serve as co-founder and chairman.
Martin emphasizes that shifting from traditional industries to entrepreneurship requires great courage. Fear of failure can be a driving force; he believes “the timing is never perfect,” and decisive action is essential. After achieving financial freedom and success, Martin positions himself as a “guardian” of the brand, continuously exploring diverse fields. He has founded health brand BeMe Wellness and AI venture studio Launcho Ventures. He builds relationships through F1 racing and his son, viewing extreme challenges on the track as a “healing process” to stay young and focused. For Martin, entrepreneurship is not just business expansion but a lifestyle of constantly challenging personal fears and gaining control over life. He encourages entrepreneurs to seize the moment, plan carefully, and go all out.
This article about leaving Wall Street to sell bubble tea and becoming a tycoon, taking Taiwan’s Gong Cha global, first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.