The New Placements
Gong cha, the bubble tea chain with nearly 2,200 locations across 33 markets, is now pouring at two University of California sites — UCSF and UC Berkeley — through its Proud to Serve licensing program. The brand entered both campuses via Ladle & Leaf, a scratch-kitchen operator serving soups, salads, and sandwiches at campus and healthcare locations. Gong cha beverages, including premium milk teas, fruit teas, matcha drinks, and its signature milk foam teas, are prepared to order alongside Ladle & Leaf's existing menu.
How the Model Works
Proud to Serve is a licensing framework that allows established foodservice operators to add Gong cha's freshly brewed beverage program inside their existing footprint without opening a standalone storefront. Operators receive access to a globally recognized dispensed-beverage brand; Gong cha gains distribution points in venues that a traditional franchise format cannot easily reach. The equipment requirement is minimal, and the brand says the format integrates into back-of-house operations without major workflow disruption — a meaningful consideration for institutional foodservice operators managing high-volume meal periods.
"UCSF and UC Berkeley are the types of high-traffic, community-driven environments where Gong cha can become part of consumers' daily routines," said Michael Nedelkovich Jr., Vice President of U.S. Non-Traditional Franchise Development at Gong cha. "Our partnership with Ladle & Leaf demonstrates the flexibility of this model and creates a blueprint for expanding into more campuses, hospitals and other nontraditional destinations nationwide."
Steve Sarver, Chief Executive Officer of Ladle & Leaf, framed the addition as a natural pairing with his brand's wholesome-food positioning, calling Gong cha "the perfect refreshing complement to our menu."
Nontraditional as a Growth Channel
The campus push fits a broader diversification trend in beverage foodservice. Operators in universities, healthcare systems, and travel hubs have become increasingly attractive to branded beverage programs looking to capture captive audiences — students, clinical staff, and patients' families — who make repeat daily visits. For Gong cha, Proud to Serve placements complement its franchise expansion strategy, which targets more than 500 locations across the Americas by 2028. The brand currently operates more than 240 stores across 24 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
The channel also creates a lower-risk trial mechanic: consumers who encounter the brand at a campus café or hospital cafeteria become familiar with it before a standalone location opens nearby. That kind of ambient awareness can accelerate unit-level ramp-up in adjacent trade areas — a dynamic convenience retailers executing licensed foodservice programs inside existing stores know well.
Beyond campuses, Gong cha is pursuing Proud to Serve placements in airports, hospitals, and restaurants. The brand's Gong cha 2.0 platform — built around digital ordering, automation, and optimized store design — is intended to support higher throughput across both traditional and nontraditional formats as the U.S. unit count scales.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
