Manila, Philippines – Tealive, Southeast Asia’s leading lifestyle tea brand, has announced its market expansion to the Philippines, and has appointed Mike Dumaual as its general manager.
Born in 2017, Tealive has quickly grown to over 700 outlets worldwide. With the establishment of the brand’s first store in Manila, specifically at SM Jazz Mall in Makati, Tealive is ready to serve Filipinos with their own milk tea lineup, leading with Tealive’s signature Aren Palm Sugar Series.
In a statement to MARKETECH APAC, Dumaual said that in his role as Tealive’s country general manager, he will be focusing on store network expansion and brand development to aggressively grow the brand.
Dumaual was recently the marketing director of Mang Inasal, a barbecue fast food chain under the Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) portfolio. He told MARKETECH APAC that in his many years working in the QSR industry, trends have changed regarding how the industry moves.
“The biggest change would be the pivot from on-premise transactions (i..e, dine-in) to off-premise transactions (i..e, delivery, self pick-up, etc). So, for a business to survive, they have to be present in all channels,” he said.
Speaking about his appointment, Dumaual said, “I’m truly excited to lead Tealive’s grand entry into the Philippine market, knowing how milk tea-crazy this country is. The ambition is not just to make it a milk tea player but a major and respected F&B lifestyle brand that Filipinos will love.”
He also told MARKETECH APAC, “The opportunity is that customers can now decide anywhere on what to drink/eat, so the brand must be ready to take advantage of that opportunity by adopting an omnichannel approach that caters to the current needs of the market where speed and convenience are critical.”