Ningji Lemon Makes Malaysian Debut at Pavilion Bukit Jalil, Pavilion KL, and KLIA 2 | ENGLISH

Southeast Asia is seeing a massive surge in tea chain expansion, with brands like Beutea, ChuChat, Auntea Jenny, and Chagee leading the way.

In Chagee's case, the brand reached 200th stores milestone in just 6 years. The same also goes for Beutea, which operates around 70 outlets in Malaysia (as of Q2 2025).[1]

Alongside them is Ningji Lemon Tea (柠季). This tea shop has opened over 3,000 branches (as of 2024) in its home country, China.

Ningji's entry to Malaysia is in line with the trend of flower milk tea and fruit tea. As of 2025, Ningji has expanded to Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore (soon), and the US (under the name Bobobaba).

Ningji store at KLIA2 - Source: Ningji Global

Ningji Malaysia starts its operations with outlets at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, and Pavilion Bukit Jalil in Q3 2025. The brand also has a store at KSL City Mall, Johor Bahru.

The hand-smashed lemon tea and fruit tea are known as their signature drinks. Other menu categories include classic milk tea, pure & original tea, and light milk tea.

There are several interesting drinks to choose, for example Phoenix Oolong Lemon Tea, Traditional Hand Smashed Lemon Tea, Jasmine Lemon Tea, Thai Green Lemon Tea, and Litchi Lemon Tea. Ningji also offers beverages with toppings such as boba, red bean, and coconut jelly.

Beverage packaging and Ningji mascot - Source: Ningji Global

NINGJI LEMON TEA - BACKSTORY
Ningji was established by Amanda Wang (Wang Jie), a female entrepreneur with an MBA from EMLYON Business School. In 2021, she and her partner opened Ningji's first store in Changsha (China).[2] Despite starting with only a small 3 sqm outlet, Ningji managed to gain public attention.

Major funding from companies such as ByteDance and ShunWei Capital has enabled Ningji to grow rapidly. Its promotion with popular artists (Joseph Zeng, 曾舜晞) has also helped to increase its popularity in China.

Ningji store - Source: Ningji Global

According Amanda, Ningji's key to success success lies in its digitalization strategy, material supply chain, and effective organizational management. Ningji's approach on digitalization focuses more on the use of data and advanced management systems. The database also helps Ningji to choose locations.[3]

Ningji Lemon Tea locations in Malaysia:

• Pavilion Bukit Jalil
• Pavilion Damansara Heights (opening soon)
• Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
• KLIA 2
• KSL City
• Sunway Carnival Mall (opening soon)

REFERENCES
[1] - https://www.sarawaktribune.com/beutea-targets-300-outlets-with-halal-certification-progressively-expanding/

[2] - https://www.ningjitea.com/newView.html?newsId=264

[3] - https://pandayoo.com/post/ningji-lemon-tea-the-tech-powered-empire-that-conquered-chinas-beverage-market/