The operator of Llaollao in Malaysia, Woodpeckers Group, has signed a 20-year franchise agreement with Cha Thai International to bring the renowned Thai tea brand ChaTraMue into Malaysia. 

Under the agreement, between eight and 10 ChaTraMue stores are set to open this year in Malaysia with additional 30 stores next year, five of which are scheduled to open in the first quarter. 

“We will scale up the expansion of our outlets to nine per quarter thereafter bringing our total store count to around 40 by end of next year,” Tan Kai Young, director at Woodpeckers.

Woodpeckers Group said the Malaysian stores will feature the same menu as in Thailand and use the same Thai tea leaves. The Malaysia expansion follows the brand’s Vietnam debut earlier this year in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. The opening in Vietnam lured long queues of young customers for days. 

The Southeast Asia expansion came four years after the brand entered Hong Kong.