Ex Mediacorp Star Jeff Wang Invests S$242K In Bubble Tea Biz In Taiwan; Offering Free Franchise Opportunities To Young Entrepreneurs
The actor helped to prepare and deliver drinks during the store’s three-day soft launch.
Former Mediacorp artiste Jeff Wang, 44, has joined the ranks of celebs like Jam Hsiao, Aaron Yan, and his fellow Star Search 1999 champ Vivian Lai by launching his own beverage biz.
The shop is called Boss Tea and is located in the Taiwan-born actor’s hometown of Taoyuan. Jeff, who also invested in a Japanese izakaya in Taipei last year, reportedly sunk close to NT$5mil (S$242,000) into his latest F&B venture.
A three-day soft opening was held recently, offering a 10 per cent discount on the full range of items plus the option to buy an additional cup for just NT$1 (S$0.05).
As one can easily tell from pics of the snaking queues leading up to the store (it was said that customers waited in line for over three hours), it was a huge success.
Planning for the opening of Boss Tea kicked off in April this year and the shop was originally scheduled to begin operations in July, but the surge in COVID-19 cases threw a wrench into the works.
However, instead of being anxious or discouraged, Jeff took advantage of the extra spare time and devoted himself to taking care of all the small details of the store, from the way the drinks are blended to the shop’s design and furnishing.
While it’s been an extremely busy and tiring period for him, he feels very content.
Things certainly didn’t slow down for Jeff when the shop finally opened its doors for the soft launch.
“Being a boss really isn’t easy!” he told reporters with a laugh. “I barely slept over the past three days as I had to go to the store early in the morning and prepare to welcome customers with the rest of the staff.”
Sure enough, Jeff personally greeted every single person in the queue under the hot sun. He also went out on a ‘mission’ to deliver free drinks to nearby construction workers, with plans to do the same for orphanages and other welfare organisations in the future.
According to Jeff, as a “child of Taoyuan”, he had been thinking of ways to contribute to his hometown.
“There have been many severe challenges during the pandemic and many young people are confused about their future,” he shared. “I wanted to see what I could do about it, so we founded Boss Tea.”
In order to help and encourage youths to start a business, Boss Tea is offering up to 10 free franchise opportunities, allowing aspiring young entrepreneurs to open new branches and become the boss of their own store without paying any franchise fees.
Photos: Boss Tea
