Chatime
Chatime is a global bubble tea franchise brand with 1,300+ outlets worldwide, operating in the US through Chatime Global LLC with approximately 24 retail locations across 13+ states, offering customizable milk tea and specialty beverages through a standardized franchise model with loyalty and digital ordering infrastructure.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersCulver City, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Chatime does
Chatime is a global bubble tea franchise operating 1,300+ retail outlets worldwide, with US operations conducted through Chatime Global LLC. The company serves end consumers of customizable milk tea, fruit tea, and specialty beverages, and monetizes primarily through a franchise model: standardized 10-year franchise agreements with franchisees who operate individual retail locations, generating revenue from initial franchise fees, ongoing royalties, and potentially ingredient supply. In the US, the brand has established approximately 24 store locations across 13 or more states including Virginia, Texas, Florida, Maryland, Alabama, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, North Dakota, New York, Louisiana, Kansas, and California, with additional locations flagged as "Coming Soon," indicating an active franchise development pipeline.
The product offering spans multiple categories — Signatures, Milk Tea Classics, Fruity, Cha-rge Energy, Smoothies, Cold Brew, and Fresh Tea — with a Grape Series slated for June 2026. The technology stack supporting the franchise system consists of three consumer-facing components: the Par-Tea loyalty application for repeat engagement and data capture, self-ordering kiosks for in-store throughput, and OLO-powered online ordering for digital channel sales. There is no disclosed proprietary technology, in-house AI/ML, or differentiated data platform; the digital layer is standard franchise retail tooling.
The business model is asset-light franchising at the global level, with the US entity acting as a master franchise operator collecting fees and royalties from domestic franchisees. Customer concentration is inherently low because the franchisee base is distributed and end consumers are diffuse retail buyers with no enterprise anchors. The principal growth levers are unit expansion in the US pipeline, menu innovation, and digital ordering channel growth; the principal risks are franchisee unit-level sales volatility, competitive pressure from other bubble tea and beverage franchise brands, and execution of US market penetration beyond the current 24-store footprint.
Chatime firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Chatime
- Legal name
- Chatime Global LLC
- Website
- https://chatime.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Chatime is a global bubble tea franchise brand with 1,300+ outlets worldwide, operating in the US through Chatime Global LLC with approximately 24 retail locations across 13+ states, offering customizable milk tea and specialty beverages through a standardized franchise model with loyalty and digital ordering infrastructure.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Chatime industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Bubble Tea
- NAICS
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Bubble Tea (Boba) Shops (THAFAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Beverage-Led QSR (Bubble Tea, Smoothies, Specialty Drinks) (THAFAAAL)
Keywords
Where Chatime is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Culver City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices24 records
Markets served
Chatime business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Franchise Fees and Royalty Revenue: Chatime generates revenue through franchising, collecting franchise fees and ongoing royalties from franchise business partners. The franchise agreement is typically a 10-year agreement with a further option.
- Retail Beverage Sales: Individual franchise locations generate revenue through direct retail sales of bubble tea and other beverages to consumers. Customers can order in-store or through online ordering platforms.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Chatime product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Chatime is a global bubble tea franchise that sells handcrafted specialty tea beverages — including milk teas, fruit teas, refreshers, and signature drinks — topped with tapioca pearls and customizable add-ons, through more than 3,500 franchised retail stores in over 50 countries. The company also licenses its brand and operating system to franchisees worldwide and operates an award-winning loyalty app and self-ordering kiosks to support retail sales.
Product overview
Chatime is a global bubble tea (boba) franchise with over 1300+ outlets worldwide. The core product is customizable milk tea and fruit beverages offered through multiple sub-categories: Signatures (flagship drinks like Premium Boba Milk Tea and Brown Sugar Boba), Milk Tea Classics (traditional milk teas including Thai, Taro, Matcha varieties), Fruity (fruit-flavored teas), Cha-rge Energy (energy drink-infused beverages), Smoothies (frozen blended drinks), Cold Brew (coffee-based drinks), Fresh Tea (plain teas), and Snacks. Customers can customize drinks with various toppings including Boba, Pudding, Aloe Vera, Jellies, Mousse, Popping Pearls, Cookie Crumb, and Herbal Jelly. The company operates through a franchise model offering T-Brewery locations, supported by technology including a Loyalty App (Par-Tea) and self-ordering kiosks.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Bubble Tea Beverages
Companies that use Chatime
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Chatime technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature2 records
Chatime partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Real Estate Service ProviderscoreChatime partners with leading real estate service providers to help franchisees source locations nationally. These partners assist in identifying optimal sites for new T-brewery locations across various retail settings including malls, street locations, and kiosks.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Chatime competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Chatime social profiles
Digital presenceChatime financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Chatime leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Chatime funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Chatime M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Chatime
What does Chatime do?
Chatime is a global bubble tea franchise that sells handcrafted specialty tea beverages — including milk teas, fruit teas, refreshers, and signature drinks — topped with tapioca pearls and customizable add-ons, through more than 3,500 franchised retail stores in over 50 countries. The company also licenses its brand and operating system to franchisees worldwide and operates an award-winning loyalty app and self-ordering kiosks to support retail sales.
Is Chatime a public or private company?
Chatime is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Chatime founded?
Chatime was founded in 2005. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Chatime based?
Chatime is headquartered in Culver City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Chatime make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Franchise Fees and Royalty Revenue is the primary driver. The others are retail Beverage Sales.
Does Chatime have an API?
No public API is recorded for Chatime.
What industry is Chatime in?
Chatime's product category is Bubble Tea. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAKAC, Bubble Tea (Boba) Shops, with a secondary code of THAFAAAL, Beverage-Led QSR (Bubble Tea, Smoothies, Specialty Drinks). Its NAICS code is 722515 and its SIC code is 5810.