Tealive's Aren Caramel (Kaong Sugar Caramel) Series

I usually tend to associate sugar with cane sugar. In this case, Tealive (read my review here) uses a sugar known as gula aren. I did some research and found out that Gula Aren is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree. The fruit is also known as kaong in the Filipino language. Granted, the Filipino language also derives from the Malaysian and Indonesian languages--it may be derived from the Indonesian word kolang kaling. The Philippines may also be producing its own gula aren or palm sugar. Sugar palm or kaong is pretty much grown as a staple in Filipino cooking too.

Here's a video from an Indonesian woman. Watching this, it's safe to assume that kaong farmers in the Philippines follow more or less the same routine. Maybe, some people may call it latik though latik is made from coconut milk and not coconut sap. Though, some Filipinos may still call palm sugar as latik. The video above also shows an Indonesian binignit with some kaong. I was shocked to learn kaong is also used in Indonesian curries too. 

I tried Tealive's palm sugar caramel series. The drink I tried contained both palm sugar caramel and caramel jelly. It's a different experience to taste dark sugar derived from palms over sugar cane. I guess Tealive's use of palm sugar is because it's popular in Malaysia. I think a reason why it's becoming a hit in Southeast Asia is the prevalence of the use of kaong. 

The Marketing Interactive shows the marketing done by Bryan Loo himself. 

Tealive is expanding into Manila and has appointed Mike Dumaual to lead its operations as GM. The Southeast Asian tea chain said on LinkedIn that Dumaual will be leading the charge on business operations across the Philippines, including store expansion strategy and boosting the Tealive brand to be Philippines’ preferred lifestyle tea brand.

Meanwhile, Dumaual has over 22 years of experience with a focus on marketing and brand management, in the F&B and FMCG sectors with such as Mang Inasal, Jollibee, and Burger King. “I’m truly excited to lead Tealive’s grand entry into the Philippine market, knowing how milk tea-crazy this country is. The ambition is not just to make it a milk tea player but a major and respected F&B lifestyle brand that Filipinos will love," he said.

Bryan Loo (pictured), CEO of Loob Holding, told A+M that the Philippines is its first market entry together with its new private equity partner Creador. "Filipinos are, no doubt, huge lovers of milk tea products in Southeast Asia. Together with Creador's extensive local resources in the Philippines, we decided to enter this market to build the next well-loved homegrown milk tea brand. He said:

Our vision is to expand 30 outlets by the end of 2022 and double our store count every other year.

It may be noticed that Filipinos tend to have this fondness for coconut products. An Indian restaurant can gain many Filipino customers through the use of coconut milk (gata ng niyog). Palm sugar is no different. Several Filipino desserts such as biko, puto, bibingka, maja blanca, and summan use some coconut-based ingredients. Some Filipino desserts use palm sugar. I wonder if Loo himself tasted Filipino desserts before entering the Philippines. Maybe, its current CEO Ahmad Fikry Ahmad Ibrahim may have gone to the Muslim-dominated areas of Mindanao to taste their desserts. Desserts like dadar gulung (coconut pancake) are pretty much similar to Indonesia and Malaysia. However, there seems to be no Tealive branch in Mindanao yet according to a Google search I did. Hopefully, they will open one in some feasible areas in Mindanao soon

After drinking the beverage, I had an impression of the flavor found in several Filipino desserts. I did get to taste breadfruit (known as kulo in Filipino) dipped in latik while I was in Surigao City. Drinking the beverage brought my memories of having tasted latik in Surigao. I guess this similarity gave Tealive an advantage in the Southeast Asian market. I'd say I'm impressed by their palm sugar series. It seems to give me something new while giving me something I missed from way back.