Content360: Tealive’s Bryan Loo on why instinct still beats data in marketing

For Bryan Loo, founder and CEO of Loob Holding, the future of marketing is not just about dashboards and data points, it is about instinct, storytelling and understanding what everyday Malaysians truly connect with.

Loob Holding is well known for bringing Taiwanese bubble tea chain Chatime to Malaysia, and subsequently relaunched as Tealive in 2017. The holding company now operates several other F&B brands such as Bask Bear Coffee and WonderBrew.

Speaking during a fireside chat with A+M’s editor-in-chief Rezwana Manjur at Content360 Malaysia, Loo reflected on how Tealive grew from a small bubble tea outlet into one of Malaysia’s most recognisable lifestyle brands by staying culturally relatable and community-driven.

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“Data will never be the initiator of a breakthrough idea,” said Loo. “Data is always there to substantiate what we do, whether we are on the right track.”

He shared that often, the team doesn't even look at data to decide their next breakthrough step. "What we want is to do something beyond what the available data can tell us."

The answer? Trusting his instincts.

Instinct, or gut feeling, becomes sharper the more you practice.

According to Loo, that instinct has been built over 16 years of experimenting, failing and continuously testing new ideas. “The more we took chances, the more we fell, the sharper the instinct became,” he added.

From cashier counter to content machine

That challenger mindset has pushed Tealive to embrace unconventional marketing strategies early on, long before livestreaming and creator-led campaigns became industry norms.

Loo recalled how social media first changed the trajectory of the business in 2010, when he personally managed the brand’s Facebook account from behind the cashier counter. A collaboration with Taiwanese brand HTC around a purple phone giveaway unexpectedly went viral, driving footfall to a secluded Tealive outlet and growing sales from 40 cups a day to 300.

“It was our big aha moment,” he said. “We realised something was happening, and it all started from social media.”

Today, Tealive continues to lean heavily into digital experimentation, including a 12-hour TikTok livestream campaign to promote eVouchers. The campaign featured multiple creators and influencers, each playing different roles throughout the stream.

“It was not an easy journey,” said Loo, noting that a 10 to 20-person team manually fulfilled thousands of vouchers behind the scenes. “But we felt we should do it, because we should always strive to lead the F&B industry.”

The campaign ultimately generated close to RM100,000 in voucher sales and reinforced Tealive’s belief in pushing creative boundaries.

Storytelling as Tealive’s growth engine

For Loo, however, successful marketing is not about flashy campaigns alone. Instead, it comes down to telling stories people can relate to.

Storytelling has slowly become our DNA. It has become our single largest differentiator within our industry.

That philosophy also extends to Tealive’s behind-the-scenes content strategy, where employees and factory teams are often featured in videos explaining everything from halal certification processes to ingredient sourcing.

“Content can never rely on one person,” Loo explained. “Our biggest asset is our people.”

As Tealive expands into markets such as India, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand, Loo admitted that preserving a distinctly Malaysian identity is “not easy”. Unlike countries with more singularly recognisable cultural exports such as Thailand, Malaysia’s diversity can be harder to define globally.

“Malaysia has always been known for its multiracialism” he said. “Diversity, in fact, is the strength of Malaysia.”

In Loo’s view, that is reflected through Tealive’s products and brand story. “If a brand can anchor itself to that idea of multiracialism, and build a menu that really reflects what it means to be multicultural in a relevant way, that becomes something worth protecting and nurturing,” he said.

“Are we there yet? No, but at least we know the direction we're heading."

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