Once a niche treat, bubble tea has become a mainstream cultural phenomenon in Canada. At the forefront of this movement is Chatime, a global pioneer that has grown from a single location to a national brand with nearly 100 stores. 

We sat down with Trinh Tham, CEO of Chatime and Bake Code, to discuss the brand’s mission to make authentic bubble tea approachable for everyone, how their new menu and the Trending 8 are simplifying discovery, and what it truly means to be “Setting the Boba Bar.” 

What’s fuelling bubble tea’s rise in Canada, and what is Chatime’s role in leading that growth? 

Bubble tea has moved quickly from a niche category into the mainstream. While it is already a widespread beverage in our major city centres, this growth is happening fast across the entire country. I’d say it’s largely driven by changing taste preferences and globalization: people travel, discover bubble tea in other countries, and then look for it when they return home.  

Fundamentally, bubble tea is also a very personalized category, which aligns with customer demand. Especially among our younger audiences, there is a strong desire for drinks and experiences that are flavourful, expressive, and fun. Chatime has definitely played a role in enabling this growth in Canada. As one of the first international bubble tea brands to scale across the country, we helped introduce the beverage to a wider audience, focusing on consistency, quality, and accessibility. 

 The campaign theme, “Setting the Boba Bar,” hints at raising standards. What does that mean from your perspective as CEO? 

Setting the Boba Bar is a declaration. It means elevating every part of the Chatime experience for our guests who come into our stores or order online. It represents these five key categories around the breadth of our offering: Signature Milk Tea, Fruit Teas, Brown Sugar, Matcha, and our Smoothie category. Setting the Boba Bar also reflects Chatime’s commitment to our Asian roots and introducing these global flavours to Canada with Canadian-inspired flavour profiles. It should help our bubble tea category feel more fresh, more modern, and hopefully culturally relevant. 

How did the idea for the Trending 8 come together, and specifically, what makes these drinks the right representation of Chatime’s menu today? 

The Trending 8 serves as a curated entry point to every corner of our menu, helping guests—especially newcomers—navigate the diversity of our flavours and toppings. The lineup is drawn from our five key categories and represents our most popular drinks, informed by historical data and global trends observed during our travels in Asia. We recognized that while customers appreciate variety, the extensive choice could feel overwhelming, so the Trending 8 was created to make decision-making faster and simpler. It gives every customer a clear, curated point to start from without sacrificing the creativity and expression of choice our brand offers. Currently, our Matcha Zen Trio and our Fruit Teas are the most popular items within the Trending 8 lineup. 

What inspired the Blind Cup concept, and how does it elevate the overall Chatime experience? 

I absolutely love this program. It’s rooted in the idea of discovery and the global trend of blind boxes, which is huge across Asia. The whole concept really captures that fun, playful spirit of bubble tea. The idea is simple: when you order from one of our Trending 8 drinks—you see how everything connects!—you get a mystery item. 

We have eight unique characters representing our top categories. Your drink comes with a special perforation at the bottom of the cup; you open it up and find a surprise bag inside. You don’t know which plush charm you’re going to get. These charms are made for sharing and conversation, and customers are already collecting and trading them. It’s a fun way to express the brand and adds a culturally rich element to the entire experience. 

There’s no doubt that Chatime is a category leader. In your view, what differentiates the brand in terms of craft, culture, or customer connection? 

What truly sets us apart isn’t just the Asian tea culture itself, but the quality of our tea and the sheer expertise that goes into our product innovation. We treat the process like a craft. We travel extensively in Asia, working directly with partners to discuss innovation and brewing techniques. We are very stringent about consistency, making sure everything is perfect across the board. 

There’s a lot that goes into making a great cup of bubble tea, which is why we invest heavily in training our Tea-ristas to ensure every recipe is crafted consistently for our guests, every single time. That leads to the cultural piece: we serve as a bridge between our Asian beverage heritage and the Canadian beverage culture. We love engaging our guests with exciting connections—for instance, we’ve played around with maple syrup and other Canadian-identified ingredients, infusing them with Asian-inspired concepts. 

Looking ahead, what priorities will guide Chatime as bubble-tea culture continues to evolve in Canada? 

We definitely want to continue our leadership in tea. Cha means tea in Chinese, after all. That is a core priority. We are constantly innovating, like the recent launch of a Jasmine Green Tea with an excellent fragrant, floral profile, and focusing heavily on new textures and toppings. For instance, we’ve brought popular items like matcha pudding and dragon fruit bits onto the menu permanently because customers loved them. 

Two other key priorities are the omni-channel experience and sustained growth. We’ve refreshed the menu design and want to ensure that whether you are in a store or on one of our digital platforms, you feel that same continuity and personalized brand interaction. Ultimately, our strategy involves purposeful, sustained growth with our franchise partners, always listening to what our guests want, but also bringing them new ideas and flavours from around the world—things they never knew they wanted. That drive for innovation and leadership is what will continue to guide us. 

Stop by Chatime to explore the new menu, taste the curated Trending 8, and find your mystery Blind Cup charm.