First initiated in 2023, GOOD CHA has grown from an early OATLY pop-up simply two months after launch right into a Thai premium matcha life-style model with six Bangkok branches and a fast-growing e-commerce enterprise. Founders Grace Tungpanitansook and Kate Socatiyanurak share how finance, product, and model formed that development.
GOOD CHA began earlier than Thailand’s present matcha growth, and your first pop-up was already in collaboration with OATLY simply two months after launch. What did you see out there?
Grace: Kate and I have been each matcha lovers lengthy earlier than it turned a significant development in Thailand. For me, matcha was already a part of day by day life — I’ve not drunk espresso in years. On the time, many matcha retailers felt minimal, critical, or intimidating. We felt there was room for a model that revered the craft of matcha, whereas making it joyful, approachable, and memorable.
Kate: GOOD CHA got here from ardour, not from chasing a development. We felt Thailand was lacking a quietly playful, health-conscious matcha model, so we constructed one. Our early OATLY pop-up helped present that the model might sit naturally inside a plant-based and wellness life-style from the beginning. As a result of we started early, GOOD CHA was already well-positioned by the point matcha demand grew quickly.
Their choice spans matcha drinks and Japanese desserts, delivering throughout Bangkok.
Earlier than GOOD CHA, each of you had already constructed MERANDI in trend and equipment. How did that background form a meals and beverage model?
Grace: MERANDI taught us to suppose past one product. It’s a design-led equipment model, so we discovered tips on how to construct an entire product world — from design and packaging to ecommerce, buyer expertise, and group. With GOOD CHA, we introduced that very same mindset into meals and beverage.
Kate: We by no means noticed GOOD CHA as only a drinks store. Meals, trend, and life-style are extra related than individuals suppose. They’re all about style, ritual, id, and the way individuals select to precise themselves. From the start, we considered drinks, tumblers, instruments, merchandise, storefronts, and the way clients would work together with the model in day by day life.
MERANDI “MIKI” Bag
Grace is CPO and Kate is CFO. How does that founder dynamic work?
Grace: Clear roles assist lots. As CPO, I lead product improvement, from drinks menu creation to merchandise, operations, and the customer-facing product expertise. I studied communication arts, however I’ve at all times been drawn to culinary experiences, design, and the way merchandise make individuals really feel.
Kate: We began as Co-CEOs, however as GOOD CHA grew right into a 40-person firm, our roles needed to change into extra outlined. I now lead finance, industrial technique, income planning, and scaling as CFO. My economics background and Grasp’s in Administration from LSE assist me make certain the enterprise grows sustainably.
Seven months after we initiated the model, Anna Naklada joined as our third companion and Chief Model Officer, bringing viewers, tradition, group, storytelling, and visibility.
How did you make a matcha model really feel cute with out compromising high quality?
Grace: We have been impressed by Japan not solely by means of tea tradition, but in addition by means of kawaii tradition. We wished GOOD CHA to really feel premium, but in addition cute, mushy, and immediately recognisable.
Kate: The attention emblem was designed by us in-house on Adobe Illustrator and is now trademarked. Paired with our mushy pink shade, it turned one in every of our strongest model motifs. We wished to point out {that a} matcha model may very well be playful with out compromising authenticity, high quality, or style.
Wellness appears central to GOOD CHA. How intentional was that?
Grace: Very intentional. We wished clients to really feel guided, not overwhelmed. Our milk choices are labelled by their qualities, and clients can alter sweetness or select between syrup and stevia at no additional value. As an alternative of conventional boba, we use konjac pearls as a zero-calorie various, conserving every drink customizable and wellness-focused.
Kate: We additionally constructed a wellness group referred to as GOOD CHA Membership. We hosted Thailand’s first Matcha Run Membership, adopted by aerobics, ice bathtub and sauna, pilates, and tennis occasions. Folks come collectively by means of matcha, but in addition by means of a shared curiosity in well being. Wellness is a journey — what you select to place into your physique, and what you do along with your physique too.
How did GOOD CHA develop past drinks into ecommerce and merchandise?
Grace: Ecommerce grew naturally as a result of clients wished to deliver GOOD CHA into their day by day routines. Our Child Tritan Tumbler stays our bestselling SKU and infrequently sells out inside minutes of every drop. The design is straightforward, with our signature mushy pink and one eye emblem motif, which exhibits how recognisable our branding has change into.
Kate: In 2025, on-line gross sales turned our largest channel, contributing roughly 60 % of annual income. That confirmed us GOOD CHA had grown past a café idea right into a retail and product-led model. Our gross sales channels embody Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Store, the GOOD CHA web site, GrabFood, GOOD CHA branches, After You Market, and different main on-line marketplaces.
GOOD CHA’s Matcha-Making Utensils & Child Tritan Tumbler
What have been the most important milestones, and the place does GOOD CHA go subsequent?
Grace: GOOD CHA now has six branches throughout Bangkok, plus supply, ecommerce, catering, workshops, and occasions. The model has additionally been seen amongst main Thai actresses, celebrities, and influencers, together with Aum Patchrapa and Chompoo Araya A. Hargate, and has been featured in Vogue Thailand.
Kate: From a enterprise perspective, income grew practically 16 instances inside our first two years. Within the first half of 2026, we reached roughly 18 million baht in income, with a full-year goal of fifty million baht.
Grace: Past the numbers, our larger purpose is to maintain constructing GOOD CHA as a premium life-style model with a Japanese coronary heart — rooted in matcha tradition, wellness, design, and group. We additionally see rising potential past Thailand, as we already welcome abroad guests and consumers, persistently obtain franchise inquiries, and our merchandise can be found on Shopee within the Philippines and Malaysia.
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