Chagee opening more heartland stores in S’pore following customer demand - Mothership

The chief marketing officer for Chagee APAC shares the brand's plans and consumption trends in Singapore.

Chinese tea brand Chagee has shifted its focus in Singapore from the central region towards the heartlands in 2026, after customers' feedback.

Among its 44 outlets to date, some of the newest were opened in Pasir Ris Mall, Punggol Coast Mall, and Bedok Mall in August 2026.

The company plans to keep expanding in Singapore, said Eugene Lee, Chagee's vice president and chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific.

"There's a bit more potential for this market here," he added.

Milk tea brands abound in Singapore, with an increasing number coming from China in recent years. What has helped Chagee gain popularity here?

Lee, who is Malaysian, believes Singaporeans' tastes are strongly aligned with Chagee's tea-forward approach.

"Customers really enjoy the fact that the product itself contains a lot of tea," he told Mothership.

To him, this sets the brand apart from others that make their tea secondary to flavours such as mango and pistachio in their drinks.

Contrary to what many might think, Chagee is not bubble tea, he emphasised.

Instead, he described Chagee as "Starbucks for tea", serving premium, "very refined" tea originating from China that many Singapore customers appreciate.

"I think Singaporeans have one of the most sophisticated palates in Southeast Asia," Lee said.

"A lot of the customers here actually know about tea, and they care about whether it's Tieguanyin... whether it's a Da Hong Pao."

Chagee has also adapted its menu in Singapore over the years based on customer feedback.

Singapore was one of the first markets in Southeast Asia where the brand introduced lighter, non-dairy alternatives for the milk in their drinks.

Roughly 10 per cent of customers choose oat milk, and about 20 per cent get non-fat milk, according to Lee.

This preference stems largely from a growing health-consciousness among Singaporeans, he has observed.

"What we're seeing as well is customers moving more and more towards... brewed tea... instead of going with their regular milk tea."

It's a trend Lee finds unique as he has not seen it in many other markets in the region.

Chagee's popularity also comes on the back of the growing consumer enthusiasm for Chinese brands and products.

In recent years, a flood of new players from China have entered Singapore's market, not just in the food and beverage sector, but also in entertainment and electronics.

Lee said they have contributed to a "Chinese wave" that rivals the "Korean wave" that has dominated the past decade.

Chinese companies have been expanding rapidly into Singapore because the hunger is here, he believes.

"Singaporeans actually have to like and enjoy Chinese flavours and Chinese foods for these brands to start to come in."

Looking to the future, Chagee will continue to cast itself as a third space for customers.

Lee's team works to ensure that each outlet they open is aesthetically beautiful and large enough for people to sit down and enjoy their tea with one another.

The company is also strategic about securing spaces for its outlets on the ground floor of malls to maximise their prominence and accessibility.

"Whenever you see a Chagee, it's always on the first floor," Lee said. "Customers see us every day as they're walking into a mall."

This new approach to location was one of the main reasons Chagee decided to rebrand itself in Singapore.

When the company first entered the country in 2019, it operated under a grab-and-go concept with smaller kiosk-style outlets, mostly situated on basement levels and in MRT stations.

After exiting the market completely in December 2023, Lee's team took some time to re-strategise, then launched the brand under a new model in Singapore in August 2024.

They plan to maintain their requirements for a large, ground-floor space, even though it hinders them from growing at the speed of other brands.

"The challenge has always been about finding the right location," Lee said. "We've been successful so far, but hopefully we can continue to find more locations in Singapore to help us expand a bit quicker."