Behind a New York City boba shop’s brand transformation

Mathew Wong, owner of Tea and Milk, transformed a single boba shop into a beloved brand. Since he spoke with Yelp in 2021, he’s expanded the shop’s original 10-by-10-foot space at the Long Island Flea Market to three permanent locations across New York City, including storefronts in Chelsea, Manhattan; Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; and Astoria, Queens.

New construction isn’t the only thing that makes a business into a brand. According to Mathew, elevating Tea and Milk required building a recognizable identity for the business. “When you’re a shop, you have customers come in and they put their trust into your drinks, your offerings,” he said. “But as a brand, everyone who hears about you should know who you are already.”

Mathew defines the Tea and Milk brand with three words: trust, fun, and integrity. Below, he dives deeper into these three pillars and how they’ve evolved in recent years. 

1. Building trust

Tea and Milk is known for using fresh, high quality ingredients right from the source—Mathew even traveled to Japan to learn more about matcha production. “We want [our customers] to know where everything is coming from. We want [them] to know everything that goes into the drink,” he said. 

As the brand expands, delivering on this promise is essential for maintaining trust with customers who expect a certain standard. Although fresh ingredients have grown increasingly expensive, Mathew said it’s worth compromising on profits: “We’ve built that trust for 10 years, and we’re not going to lose the trust of our customers now because prices went up. We’re going to continue on doing what we’re doing because we believe in the quality of ingredients that the brand is supposed to hold.”

Another way Mathew builds trust on an individual level is by ensuring new customers are happy with their drinks. “We want [customers] to trust the brand,” he said. “So [when you] order something that you didn’t like, you get something else that you do like. Then you build trust with that person, and eventually, maybe [they’ll] try it again.” 

2. Making space for fun

Creating a space for guests to gather, build community, and enjoy themselves was another priority during Tea and Milk’s expansion. “[Before expansion] we only had 10 seats, and there’s usually groups of friends who wanted to come in and just sit down, and we didn’t have enough seats for them to sit down and talk,” Mathew said.

The new shop in Bay Ridge has about 30 seats for people to hang out, drink boba, and talk. Building this space has been a part of Mathew’s dream since 2013, when he started the business with three friends looking to leave their corporate jobs. 

“When we first started the business, we were sitting together as a group of friends and talking about what we [could] do to create our own brand, and our daily struggles in our nine to five [jobs]. And now we’re creating a space where everyone can do that in Bay Ridge,” he said.

3. Leading with integrity 

After nearly a decade in business, Mathew still aims to continually improve. Over the years, he’s adjusted and perfected his recipes, down to the amount of time the boba rests after cooking. “There’s so many ways to improve, [all] because of listening to other people’s feedback,” he said. 

Of course, not all of Tea and Milk’s reviews are positive, even today. But Mathew insists on considering and responding to every piece of feedback. It’s part of how he maintains a reputation for integrity and customer service. 

“It shows that you care as the business owner. You definitely have to respond in a timely fashion—but I suggest not [responding] on the same day that you read it. If it’s a negative review, calm down, get level-headed first, and then go and respond.”

These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear from Mathew, or visit the show homepage to learn about the show and find more episodes. 

Photos from Tea and Milk on Yelp