Gong Cha Taps Predictive Analytics for U.S. Growth Strategy

Bubble tea brand Gong Cha has tapped predictive analytics provider SiteZeus to help expand its U.S. presence.

The U.K.-based beverage brand and retailer, which was founded in 2006 and sources tea from Taiwan, operates 1,400 retail locations in 19 countries, including 105 stores in the U.S.

Gong Cha will deploy SiteZeus' machine learning technology to obtain consumer insights — widely accepted as crucial insights for success in today’s consumer goods landscape — for a greater understanding of how its U.S. consumers differ from those in other countries.

Employing predictive models, it’s also designed to further identify key factors in Gong Cha’s portfolio and store fleet plans. This includes informing the brand’s market penetration strategy by helping identify ideal new locations that won’t cannibalize existing stores.

The global bubble tea market was valued by Researchandmarkets at $2.4 billion in 2019, which forecast it to reach $4.3 billion by 2027. North America accounted for more the one-third of the global bubble tea market share and was cited as the dominant region.  

"We believe having the right tools and technology in place is essential to meeting our growth goals in the U.S.," Einar Gustafsson, who joined Gong Cha as CEO of Americas and Europe last June, said in a statement. "We chose to work with SiteZeus because their platform helps us to very quickly understand not only where to locate our stores, but why those locations are the best suited.”

“The reasoning behind those location decisions is an important key to success in today's data-driven business environment," he added.