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Xing Fu Tang (; ) is a Taiwanese multinational chain of
bubble tea Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, tapioca milk tea, boba tea, or boba; zh, t=珍珠奶茶, p=zhēnzhū nǎichá, zh, t=波霸奶茶, p=bōbà nǎichá, labels=no) is a tea-based drink most often containing chewy tapio ...
restaurants. Founded by Edison Chen in
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
in 2018, the franchise has expanded to over 150 locations in over 18 countries as of 2023. It has been dubbed "the
Hermès Hermès International S.A. ( , ) is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, silk goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the ...
of bubble tea" due to its luxury menu items, including flame-torched
brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...
boba milk and boba milk topped with
gold foil upA gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). The Japan.html" ;"title="Toi gold mine museum, Japan">Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has ...
.


History

Xing Fu Tang was founded in January 2018 in
Taipei, Taiwan , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
, by entrepreneur Edison Chen. The brand name, which translates to "realm of happiness", as well as the restaurant's flagship
brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...
boba milk recipe, was inspired by Chen's grandmother. The franchise rapidly expanded, opening over 60 locations in Taiwan by May 2019, and over 100 locations worldwide by 2020. Early expansions outside of Taiwan included
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
, and
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
in 2018, the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, with two locations opening in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
in early 2019, and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, whose first location opened in June 2019 at Century Square. The first United States location opened in
Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial ...
, New York City, in January 2020. In 2018, Xing Fu Tang Canada regional manager Nelson Lam said the chain aimed to become "the
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...
of bubble tea". As of 2023, the chain has expanded to over 150 locations in over 18 countries across five continents.


Franchise disputes

During its rapid expansion, Xing Fu Tang faced several franchise disputes. In January 2019, Xing Fu Tang founding distributor CEO International sued the chain's Hong Kong franchise distributor Tenpence, accusing them of
breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...
for asserting sole ownership of the Xing Fu Tang brand in Hong Kong. As a result, all three existing Hong Kong locations of Xing Fu Tang were forced to shut down. In October 2019, the franchisees of 34 Xing Fu Tang locations in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
issued a series of complaints against the company on
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
, asserting exclusive ownership of the Xing Fu Tang brand in Malaysia and citing exorbitant franchise fees and raw material costs, after the franchisees refused the company's demands to order RM4.5 million worth of heart-shaped boba molding machines. Xing Fu Tang Taiwan subsequently sued the franchisees for breach of contract, while also committing to provide financial assistance in order to cover their franchise fees. The Malaysian franchisees struck back on Facebook, asserting they had not breached the franchising contract, accusing the parent company of
defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
, and stating they had been "bullied" by the parent company, who threatened to terminate the franchising contract if the franchisees did not purchase the molding machines. In response, Xing Fu Tang Taiwan alleged that the machines were merely a "test" to see if the Malaysian franchisees were truly committed to the company and maintained that the franchisees were breaching their contract, to which the franchisees replied, "We hope that the Taiwan HQ will stop with the ridiculous accusations and ruining Xing Fu Tang’s reputation further." In 2021, Xing Fu Tang Taiwan issued a statement on
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
accusing franchisees in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
of breaching their franchise contract by opening stores without proper authorization, purchasing ingredients from unauthorized sources, and failing to pay franchise fees. Xing Fu Tang U.S. CEO Andrew Chuang called these allegations "baseless" and "unprofessional", asserting Xing Fu Tang U.S. was operating within their rights as Xing Fu Tang's "sole master franchisor" in the United States.


Menu

Xing Fu Tang's flagship drink is
brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...
boba milk, whose boba pearls are
stir-fried Stir frying ( zh, c= 炒, p=chǎo, w=ch'ao3, cy=cháau) is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries ...
and
caramelized Caramelization (or caramelisation) is a process of browning of sugar used extensively in cooking for the resulting butter-like flavor and brown color. The brown colors are produced by three groups of polymers: (C24H36O18), (C36H50O25), and ...
in a golden
wok A wok () is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan of Chinese origin. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in Greater China, and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as being ...
in front of customers before the drink is browned with a flame torch. Other popular drinks include strawberry boba milk, mango smoothie with rabbit
panna cotta Panna cotta (; ; ) is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin and molded. The cream may be aromatized with coffee, vanilla, or other flavorings. History The name ''panna cotta'' is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before ...
, and the luxury
gold foil upA gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). The Japan.html" ;"title="Toi gold mine museum, Japan">Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has ...
boba milk, which in part has earned the company the nickname "the
Hermès Hermès International S.A. ( , ) is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, silk goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the ...
of bubble tea". The company uses an open-kitchen concept, allowing customers to see the creation of their drinks from start to finish, including the kneading and molding of boba dough. The company also emphasizes fresh ingredients, noting that its ingredients are handmade and prepared fresh daily at every location worldwide. Xing Fu Tang black sesame milk tea.jpg, Black sesame boba milk, New York City, 2024 File:Seattle, September 10, 2024 - 65.jpg, Dalgona coffee latte, Seattle, 2024


See also

* Kung Fu Tea


References


External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Xing Fu Tang 2018 establishments in Taiwan Bubble tea brands Companies based in Taipei Multinational restaurant chains Restaurants established in 2018 Tea brands in Taiwan