Established: 1992
Parent company: 聯發國際餐飲事業股份有限公司
CEO: Zheng Kai-long 鄭凱隆
Website:https://www.1992sharetea.com.tw/
Background
Lianfa International Catering Co., Ltd. was founded by Mr. Zheng Kailong in 1992, offering take-out bubble black tea, pearl milk tea and other drinks.¹
Established on Nanyang Street, ShareTea is a memory of many Taipei students during their years of studying. Although there are only 22 stores in Taiwan now, it is currently the Taiwanese drink brand with the highest market share in the United States and HongKong. ShareTea has 44 stores in Hong Kong now.
Now ShareTea has returned to Taiwan. It starting entering the stock market in January 2021 and passed the review of the OTC in September.²
ShareTea has more than 300 stores in 4 continents, 15 countries, and 50 international cities.
Its locations include Hong Kong, Macau, Canada, Australia, Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Japan, and more. In 2018, there were more than 100 stores in the United States.¹
Public mentions of Taiwan
ShareTea’s official website does not show the branches in China other than those in Hong Kong, but we found evidence of franchises in China: there are still official accounts of Chinese branches on WeChat and news about branches opening in China .³ Their Hong Kong and Macau headquarters’ Facebook page and the official accounts on WeChat use “Taiwan” and “Taipei”. No use of “Chinese Taiwan” has been found.
*WeChat official account uses “Taiwan” and “Taipei”: +0.5
*Some franchising in China: -1
Black tea pesticides exceeded the standard in 2015
In 2015, ShareTea’s black tea was found to contain 0.01 ppm of fipronil, a pesticide residue that exceeded regulation amounts. ShareTea said that the batch of tea was only use for internal testing at the directly-operated Nanyang store and was not sold.⁴
*Food safety violation: -0.5
COVID Donations: medical professionals
Starting from April 2020, ShareTea started driving trucks to major hospitals throughout Taiwan, delivering drinks to medical staff and making documentaries, totaling more than 10,000 cups.
To encourage medical staff, they created a video with the Golden Melody Award Best Orchestra winner, MIXER, and their affiliate Believe Music Authorization. Through beautiful music and warm images, they hoped to convey kindness and more positive energy for society.⁵
*COVID donations to medical professionals: +0.5
Sources
