Swiss-Taiwanese entrepreneur brings Taiwan boba to Finland

Helsinki, Jan. 28 (CNA) The Swiss-Taiwanese founder of a Taiwanese beverage chain, Eva Wei (魏伊娃), has planted the roots of Taiwanese boba (bubble tea) in Finland.

Wei's mother is from Taiwan and her father from Switzerland. She emigrated with her family to Finland in 2002. At the time, cafés in the country offered limited options and no Taiwan bubble tea.

"I really wanted to drink bubble milk tea," Wei told CNA in a recent interview.

Spotting a market gap, she launched her first boba shop in downtown Helsinki in 2012, the year she turned 21.

However, running the business was challenging.

With no prior experience, she had no one to turn to and had to rely on government departments for guidance on legal and operational issues. She also found it difficult to convince Finnish consumers to try boba tea.

The venture closed in 2015, but Wei's foresight proved correct. Years later bubble tea became a hit across Europe and gradually gained acceptance in Finland.

In 2020, Wei founded her own boba brand, which rapidly expanded to seven branches across Finland within a year.

Her most popular offerings include classic brown sugar pearl milk tea and iced tea without milk.

Despite the chilly Finnish climate, iced drinks remain in high demand, offering consumers an exotic twist, Wei said. The brand also serves other Taiwanese desserts such as snow ice, wheel cakes, and grass jelly.

In 2023, Wei launched a second venture, a matcha specialty brand.

Her interest in matcha began while running the boba branch, and although matcha specialty stores were popping up across Europe, none existed in Finland. "So why not open one here?" she said.

She traveled to Japan to learn matcha production from leaf to cup. Currently, all her matcha is directly imported from Japan.

Matcha is the healthier option among tea drinks with moderate caffeine, so Wei thought Finns might enjoy drinking matcha, just like they enjoy coffee.

She has matcha branches in Finland, the Czech Republic and Spain, with sugar-free matcha latte emerging as the top seller.

Wei's matcha stores frequently host pop-up events with businesses from other industries, sometimes drawing crowds that spill onto nearby streets.

She hopes to attract diverse customer groups while allowing niche business founders to showcase their products.

Wei's entrepreneurial philosophy is rooted in identifying untapped opportunities. "You only live once," she said. "Go for it if you want it."