As CHAGEE gears up for its IPO, it’s impossible not to be amazed by the incredible story of its founder, Zhang Junjie — a true rags-to-riches journey that reads like a movie script.
Abandoned by his mother at a young age and raised in an orphanage, Zhang was living on the streets by the time he was 16 — illiterate, homeless, and with no direction. His turning point came when he started working at a milk tea shop, even though he couldn’t read the menu. That’s when he began teaching himself pinyin and learning to read, just to keep the job.
From those humble beginnings, he worked his way up — from store clerk to assistant, then manager, supervisor, franchisee, and agent. He experienced every role the tea beverage industry had to offer. This deep, hands-on understanding laid the foundation for what was to come.
Eventually, Zhang took over a failing milk tea franchise. He dreamed of launching his own brand, but due to contractual constraints with a previous franchise partner, the idea had to wait.
The real breakthrough came in 2015. As China’s new tea beverage industry began to boom, Zhang realized it was now or never. He returned to his hometown of Kunming and launched CHAGEE (霸王茶姬) — with a focus on fresh milk tea made from original tea leaves. The first store opened in November 2017 on Wuyi Road, Kunming.
As the business grew, so did its ambitions. In 2021, CHAGEE moved its headquarters to Chengdu, and in early 2023, established its Global Business Center in Shanghai. This center now manages global product promotion and international expansion.
Zhang once said:
“In the freshly made tea business, if you don’t have scale, you’re not even at the table.”
To achieve scale, CHAGEE adopted a “managed franchise model,” setting up local support teams across 32 provinces and regions in China. Their approach? Test the waters with self-operated stores first, then roll out franchising with local partners once they’ve mastered operations in a new market.
This strategy paid off — fast.
At the end of 2022, CHAGEE had just over 1,000 stores. A year later? More than 3,500. By the end of 2024, that number had soared to 6,440, with 156 locations across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and other international markets.
And it’s not just about quantity — the performance is next-level.
In 2024, CHAGEE reported a GMV of 29.5 billion RMB — a 173% increase year-over-year. In China alone, the average monthly GMV per store hit 512,000 RMB, with 833 cups sold daily per store on average.
Revenue for 2024 hit 12.4 billion RMB, and net profit surged to 2.515 billion RMB, with a healthy net margin of 20.3%. Just two years ago, the company was still in the red.
From a street kid who couldn’t read, to the founder of a global tea empire preparing for IPO — Zhang Junjie’s story is nothing short of legendary.
Wantun Media 