Chinese bubble tea chain Heytea arrives in Malaysia

Chinese tea brand Heytea has opened its first store at Kuala Lumpur’s newly-opened shopping destination, The Exchange TRX, as part of Heytea’s ambition to have a larger footprint in the country.

The new store takes over an 80sqm space of the shopping mall’s Level C.

The Malaysia launch, which the company described as its “important business destination in Southeast Asia,” follows Heytea’s entry into the UK on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue earlier this year. Malaysia also marks Heytea’s second Southeast Asian market after Singapore, where it entered in 2018.

The company is also plotting its US debut, with the first store scheduled to open in Manhattan this month.

Heytea is among the major retailers making market debuts at The Exchange TRX, including Japan’s Seibu department store, Gentle Monster, Shake Shack, and Drunk Elephant.

Founded in 2012, the Shenzhen-headquartered tea chain is known for modern interior design and “new-generation Chinese tea drinks.”