Did Nayuki make bubble tea a millennial must-have? Chinese entrepreneur Peng Xin turned humble milk tea into a US$2 billion brand – but it was a blind date that got business off the ground

Freshly baked bread with a cup of tea might present a cosy image indeed, but Chinese entrepreneur Peng Xin’s tea appreciation vision was more ambitious than that.

Her high-end tea brand, Nayuki, offers a double whammy that most competitors in the saturated milk tea drink market don’t: comfortable spaces to relax in, and fresh ingredients. Perhaps this blend is why the brand has dominated China’s tea-drinking scene in just a few years, with over 350 physical stores across over 50 Chinese cities. Nayuki, which is estimated to be valued at 13 billion yuan (US$2 billion), has also expanded into the US, Japan and Singapore. Peng is now aiming to list on the Hong Kong stock market.