Anchal Lamba
President of Gong cha Tea, LLC (Largest U.S. Master Franchisee), Gong cha
Age: 31
Anchal Lamba, a first generation Indian American, was obsessed with bubble tea growing up and the idea of owning a business. So once she graduated from Fordham University, she negotiated the U.S. franchising rights for Gong cha, a global bubble tea concept. She was 24 years old when she opened her first store in Flushing, a neighborhood in Queens, New York. Since then, Lamba has opened 80 locations across the Northeast and Texas and has plans for 30 more by the end of 2022.
In light of COVID restrictions, she launched an e-training system to enable virtual learnings and rolled out third-party delivery and pickup to meet customer demand. Lamba also ensured franchise development remained on target by helping subfranchisees with site selection through long-standing real estate partnerships and market planning with a new Al platform.
“In the past two years, the industry has been challenged in ways we could’ve never imagined,” Lamba says. “Looking toward the future, as a leader in my organization and the industry, I know how critical it is to stay nimble, flexible, and ready to meet our customers wherever they are. At the same time, never losing our focus on our key strategic goals; fueling our growth and supporting it with product innovation and cutting-edge marketing and loyalty initiatives.”
