Taiwanese bubble tea chain Comebuy has opened its first US store – in Manhattan, New York.

The store, on Fifth Avenue, is Comebuy’s 80th overseas. It sells Taiwan’s traditional tea drinks including the chewy tapioca balls in a tea base with milk.

Comebuy plans to continue its overseas expansion making inroads in France, the Czech Republic, the UK and India. Its current overseas markets include Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Germany and now the US.

Established in 2001, Comebuy had built a network of 92 stores in Taiwan. It says it is committed to creating a good reputation for the brand, hence, more than 80 per cent of its stores are directly managed to ensure the quality of the products.

The growing popularity of traditional Taiwanese bubble milk abroad has spurred operators to expand overseas. Earlier this month, Chatime entered India through a franchise agreement with Alchemist Foods.

Chatime also debuted in Europe last month opening its first store in London.

GB