SINGAPORE: A new bubble tea brand has taken over six former outlets of Gong Cha, which closed all its shops in Singapore in October 2025.
Named Cai Ca, it was founded by former Gong Cha Singapore CEO Kang Puay Seng, Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News reported.
Offering drinks made with Japanese soya milk and tea, the new player has set up shop at Lot One, Bugis Junction, NUS UTown, King Albert Park, Northpoint City and Century Square.
According to its Instagram page, it will soon open another outlet at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Mr Kang told Shin Min that he and his team drew on their past experience to establish Cai Ca and identified two main directions for growth.
The first was to launch healthier beverages based on the Nutri-Grade labelling system. The second was to introduce snacks that could be paired with the drinks. Nutri-Grade labels have been compulsory for freshly made beverages since Dec 30, 2023, with the healthiest drinks graded “A” and those with the highest sugar and/or saturated fat content getting a “D”.
In October, Gong Cha shut its outlets in Singapore but said it would relaunch in 2026 with new local franchisees as part of a global “Gong Cha 2.0” revamp.
Founded in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Gong Cha expanded into Singapore in 2009. It briefly exited the Singapore market in June 2017, with its outlets here replaced by homegrown bubble tea brand LiHo.
It returned to the Singapore market a few months later under a different franchisee in December 2017. Mr Kang, who co-founded the Mr Bean soy milk chain, was responsible for bringing Gong Cha back to Singapore.
According to its website, Gong Cha had 29 outlets in Singapore.