At Tea Proves It Is More Than Just Another Bubble Tea Brand with At Tea's PR Agency Saltine Communications
Let's take a closer look at how Saltine Communications as At Tea's PR Agency helped the Taiwanese bubble tea brand show Singaporeans what sets it apart, from real tea leaves to a team built on second chances.
Singapore has no shortage of bubble tea. Many overseas tea brands choose the city-state to launch new franchises, and the market is close to saturated, so new names have to work hard to stand out. That was the challenge At Tea Singapore's team spoke about in a feature by Vulcan Post, published in September 2024.
At Tea was founded in 2020 by Taiwanese musician Jam Hsiao, his first venture into F&B. He started the brand to create jobs for people who needed them, and later opened franchising opportunities overseas, including in Singapore. Supported by At Tea's PR agency, the Singapore team shared the story behind the brand with Vulcan Post's readers.
For Mr Dylan Mok, now Managing Director of At Tea Singapore, the franchise was a lifeline. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he struggled to keep his businesses in seafood trading, cruise ship refurbishment and event ticketing going. Faced with retrenching all his staff or finding another way, he chose the latter, despite having little experience running a bubble tea brand. He then brought in Mr Aleste Lim, who had years of experience managing F&B brands, as General Manager. Mr Lim said the team mixed F&B and non-F&B professionals with people who had lost their jobs in the pandemic, giving everyone “a shared sense of determination”. The team trained in Taiwan, at a cost of more than S$10,000. Mr Mok said employee development is a pillar of the brand, and that tea baristas deserve the same regard as coffee baristas.
The brand's launch drew queues of up to one and a half hours, and At Tea grew to five outlets islandwide. To stand out further, it went through a 15-month rebranding exercise and reopened four outlets in July 2024 after renovations. Its drinks use real Taiwanese tea leaves instead of tea powders, with a tea bag in a separator in each cup. A new hot-cold brewing method keeps the taste consistent, since melting ice can affect the quality of the drink, Mr Mok explained. The brand also worked with home-grown Oatbedient on oat milk options and a plant-based cream foam, The Oaty Fluff.
For a brand in a crowded market, the story shows that a famous founder can draw the first crowd, while the product and the people behind it keep the brand going. At Tea also wants bubble tea to feel less like a guilty treat. It has absorbed some of the extra cost of its oat milk and plant-based options, and Mr Lim said the aim is to find a “neutral ground” that is friendly for customers' wallets and health. At Tea's PR agency helped bring these stories to a wider audience.
By pairing authentic Taiwanese tea with a team that values training, At Tea is carving out its own space in Singapore's bubble tea scene. At the time of the report, the brand hoped to grow to 12 to 15 outlets in the next few years and was looking to expand into Malaysia and Indonesia through a new franchise. Mr Mok also shared his hope of making At Tea halal. With the support of At Tea's PR agency, the brand continues to share its journey with Singaporeans.
Saltine Communications is proud to be At Tea's PR agency on record for this campaign in Singapore. We're honoured to celebrate our clients' achievements alongside them as their dedicated PR agency in Southeast Asia! Drop us a note at hello@saltinecomms.com to find out how we can get your brand onto the media at affordable rates.
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