China gets another bubble tea billionaire with Good me operator’s IPO

By Dat Nguyen February 14, 2025 | 04:28 am PT

Wang Yun’an, founder of beverage chain Good me, has become China’s latest “bubble tea billionaire” with a net worth of $1.2 billion after an initial public offering (IPO).

The Hong Kong IPO of Guming Holdings, which operates the chain, has raised $233 million, pushing up the wealth of the 38-year-old founder, according to Bloomberg.

People hold cups of Good me tea. Photo courtesy of Guming Holdings

Guming operates nearly 10,000 Good me stores across China. It saw revenue rising 15.6% year-on-year to CNY6.4 billion (US$878 million) in the first nine months of 2024.

Wang is the latest Chinese billionaire to emerge from the booming bubble tea industry, a market projected to grow from $9.6 billion in 2018 to a staggering $71 billion within just three years.

In April last year, Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial, the maker of Chabaidao tea, listed its shares in Hong Kong, giving its husband-and-wife founders Wang Xiaokun and Liu Weihong a combined wealth of $2.7 billion, which has since dropped by nearly half.

Mixue Group, the biggest food and beverage chain in the world with 45,300 stores, plans to raise $500 million through a Hong Kong IPO.

Its founding brothers Zhang Hongchao and Zhang Hongfu had a net worth of $1.5 billion each in April 2024.