Woodpeckers Group Brand Operation Manager Ricky Tjandra making the first cup of ChaTraMue Thai milk tea at the IOI City Mall Putrajaya store launch | Photo credit: Cha Thai International

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Thai milk tea and coffee chain ChaTraMue has opened its first of ten planned franchised store planned for Malaysia this year at the IOI City Mall in Putrajaya.
 
The new store marks the first time parent company Cha Thai International has licensed the brand outside of Thailand, with local F&B operator Woodpeckers Group granted exclusive rights for the ChaTraMue brand in Malaysia.

The initial phase of a 20-year agreement signed in September will see Woodpeckers seek to open 40 ChaTraMue locations across Malaysia by the end of 2024.
 
Founded as a Chinese tea importer in 1925, the ChaTraMue brand was created in 1945 and currently operates 145 tea shops and kiosks across Thailand specialising in Thai milk tea, milk green tea and Oliang Thai coffee – a beverage prepared with Robusta coffee and flavoured with brown sugar, cardamom, corn, soybeans, rice, and sesame seeds. The chain also has a presence across China, Brunei, Cambodia, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines.
 
Selangor-based Woodpeckers group also operates the llaollao frozen yoghurt chain, which has around 80 stores in Malaysia, alongside European cuisine-focused restaurant ‘tbc’, which trades from a single site in Kuala Lumpur.
 
“We’re thrilled to introduce Thailand's top-ranking milk tea brand to discerning Malaysian consumers who appreciate the finest tea blends. With our extensive experience in the F&B industry and a track record of success with IIaoIIao, we are confident that ChaTraMue will be a winner,” said  Woodpeckers Group CEO, Tan Kai Young.
 
Malaysia has seen a flurry of international coffee operators enter the market over the last 12 months, with South Korea’s Paris Baguette, Saudi Arabia’s Barn’s, Taiwan’s HWC Coffee, the UK’s EL&N, Indonesia’s Tanamera Coffee and Kopi Kenangan alongside Morocco’s Bacha Coffee all gaining footholds.
 
The southeast Asian nation is also home to a vibrant scene of domestic coffee chains, including ZUS Coffee, Gigi Coffee, Bask Bear Coffee and Old Town White.