The ever-growing demand for bubble tea in China has propelled many entrepreneurs into the billionaire ranks. The latest one to join the list is the founder of Guming Holdings, Yun'an Wang. The Chinese milk tea company’s IPO in Hong Kong helped the 38-year-old millennial become a new billionaire.
Here are five things to know about the billionaire and his company:
Yun'an Wang’s fortune
Forbes Asia estimates that the chairman and CEO of Guming has amassed a fortune of $1.2 billion.
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Engineer to billionaire founder
Yun'an Wang is an engineer who later went on to become a founder, and now his company's IPO in Hong Kong has helped him become a new millennial billionaire. According to Forbes Asia, he completed his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, located in Hangzhou, China.
First shop
According to Bloomberg, he opened his first tea shop nearly 15 years ago in his hometown, Daxi. It is near Shanghai with a population of under 200,000.
Building a tea shop chain
{{/usCountry}}According to Bloomberg, he opened his first tea shop nearly 15 years ago in his hometown, Daxi. It is near Shanghai with a population of under 200,000.
Building a tea shop chain
{{/usCountry}}Over the years, his brand captured the taste buds of customers in various regions of China, leading to his tea chain opening nearly 10,000 stores. Despite being in an ultra-competitive landscape, his brand became the second largest fresh bubble tea maker for total sales and total number of stores in 2023, as per IPO prospectus, reported the Bloomberg.
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Market share
Guming sells tea under the “Good Me” brand, which, according to Bloomberg, has a market share of “9.1% as of the end of 2023 among China’s top five bubble brands.”
Wang, in a 2023 interview, said that the boba tea industry is “always full of crazy promotions.” He added, “We are already used to a price war. Every year there will be a new bubble tea brand popping up.”