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Martin Berry, the founder and chairman of Gong cha Global. Photo courtesy of Martin Berry |
At the time, Berry was in his 30s and had built much of his career in senior executive positions overseeing multi-trillion-dollar balance sheets. But over time, he found that large paychecks no longer brought him satisfaction.
“I realized after working hard for quite a long period of time that I didn’t really like the corporate system. I didn’t like its lack of entrepreneurialism,” Berry told CNBC Make It.
Today, Berry serves as founder and chairman of Gong cha Global, an international bubble tea franchise that traces its roots to a small tea shop in Taiwan opened in 1996 by Zhen-hua Wu.
Under his leadership, Gong cha’s network expands from four Asian countries to 30 nations with 2,000 outlets.
Raised in rural Melbourne, Australia, Berry’s entrepreneurial instincts emerged early.
“We didn’t necessarily have a lot of money … I started to become quite entrepreneurial from a very young age, trying to start businesses and different types of things,” he said.
As a child, he found various ways to earn income: from farm work and feeding cattle to selling Christmas trees.
“I was just born with this innate desire for making money. I think I was very driven by money and what it could do for you, and the empowerment that it [could] bring.”
His enterprising mindset intensified with age. At 19, while many peers focused on school and social life, Berry secured his first full-time corporate role.
“I actually snuck into a university presentation, which was meant to be for graduates … I was listening to all these companies pitch as to why these graduates should join them.”
He approached a human resources representative from IT company Hewlett-Packard (HP) and offered to work without pay. That exchange led to a summer internship that later became a full-time position.
“I just managed to make it work by studying at night and weekends to complete the degree, and by the time I graduated, I already had sort of three years’ worth of corporate experience,” he said.
By his 30s, Berry held senior roles in offices across Australia, London, Singapore and South Korea. After roughly two decades in corporate life, he decided it was time for a change.
The right ingredients
Berry’s next chapter began unexpectedly in early 2011 while he was getting a haircut at a Singapore mall and noticed a long queue outside a nearby shop.
Intrigued, he joined the line and discovered it was a Gong cha outlet gaining traction across Asia.
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A Gong cha store in Thailand. Photo courtesy of Gong cha |
He quickly identified several promising signs: drinks were produced quickly, stores were compact and minimally staffed, and the simple ingredients hinted at strong profit margins.
“I knew nothing about boba or bubble tea, but from a financial engineering standpoint … [I thought] this product must be incredibly profitable,” he said.
Seeing potential, Berry conducted his own research. He purchased ten top-selling drinks to sample and spent weeks visiting multiple locations to observe customer traffic before deciding he wanted to get involved.
After repeated failed attempts to contact Gong cha’s headquarters, Berry flew to Taiwan and appeared in person. By chance, the original founder was present, and the pair struck a deal that made Berry a master franchiser for the brand.
Berry said he invested about $2.5 million of personal savings to introduce Gong cha to its fifth market, South Korea, and subsequently led its international expansion.
Company documents reviewed by CNBC show that in 2024 Gong cha generated more than $500 million in systemwide sales.
“When you’re struggling … to start a business, you think you have to invent the next light bulb or the next wheel … but it’s so far from the truth,” Berry said.
“It’s really about looking for something that has a lot of potential, whether you can either do it better than somebody else, or you can put a different spin on it.”
