While a solid traditional food preparation philosophy works, keeping a bubble-tea business successful requires continual digital transformation to be on tap

While it may not be immediately apparent that a bubble-tea business requires much high technology, success in the fast moving consumer goods industry worldwide has required successful food-and-beverage (F&B) brands to tap continual digitalization amid turbulent economic conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic and global inflation and supply chain disruptions due to geopolitical crises.

One F&B firm that claims the title of being of the originator of China’s “new-style tea” and iconic cheese tea has announced further digitalization to its network of 4,300 outlets in 300 cities around the world. On 24 February 2025, HEYTEA was announced to have partnered a unified commerce platform to “launch seamlessly into new overseas markets.”

Founded in 2012 in Jiangbianli, Guangdong, China, the firm’s recipe for successfully carving a niche in the bubble tea market had involved blending tradition with eccentric inspiration to breathe new life into tea concoctions.

Despite sticking to certain cultural food traditions, the firm is far from traditional when it comes to digitalization. The firm had implemented an ERP system back in 2017 for better inventory and logistics management, and its mobile app streamlines ordering, reducing wait times and boosting customer engagement. Demand prediction tools, developed in 2022, are optimizing raw material and new product inventory, ensuring stock aligns with demand. In terms of customer experience digital transformation, the firm’s efforts in membership and loyalty schemes had already attracted over 63m members by 2022, via continual customer retention through personalized experiences.

According to HEYTEA’s official spokesperson, integrating a unified commerce platform will “unlock the benefit of its extensive global acquiring network, allowing faster, more reliable transactions in the preferred local payment methods… promising a localized and more customer-friendly experience… (by offering)  fast processing and support of a wide range of local payment methods, allow us to focus on delighting customers without worrying about payment complexities.”

Said Warren Hayashi, President (Asia-Pacific), Adyen, the incumbent payment services and unified commerce platform, is “proud to partner with HEYTEA as it brings its iconic “new-style tea” to customers around the globe.”