We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rongrong Zhou. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rongrong below.
Rongrong , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
The Spark That Changed Everything
Picture this: I’m walking through the narrow, bustling alleyways of Shanghai – these traditional longtang neighborhoods where old Shanghai still lives and breathes. The stone pathways are barely wide enough for two people to pass, lined with centuries-old buildings that have witnessed the city’s incredible transformation. I was simply exploring, taking in the authentic local culture that these hidden corners preserve so beautifully.
Then I saw something that stopped me in my tracks – a long queue snaking through this tiny alley. In Shanghai, long queues usually mean something extraordinary, so naturally, my curiosity was piqued. I followed the line to its source: a small, unassuming tea shop where an elderly woman was creating something I’d never seen before.
She was taking traditional eight-treasure porridge – ba bao zhou, a nourishing blend of grains, beans, and dried fruits that Chinese families have cherished for generations – and somehow combining it with modern milk tea. The concept was so simple yet so revolutionary. Here was someone bridging thousands of years of wellness wisdom with contemporary taste preferences.
The Moment of Recognition
When I tasted that drink, everything clicked. The flavor was incredible – comforting and familiar from the traditional grains, yet refreshing and modern from the tea base. But beyond the taste, I experienced something deeper. This wasn’t just a beverage; it was a perfect metaphor for what I believed was missing in the market.
I had been working in the corporate world, and I understood consumer behavior, market dynamics, operational systems. But what struck me in that moment was the emotional connection this drink created. It made me think of my grandmother’s kitchen, of traditional Chinese medicine principles about food as medicine, of the growing global awareness around wellness and mindful consumption.
The Logic Behind the Leap
Standing in that alley, watching customer after customer leave with genuine satisfaction on their faces, the business logic became crystal clear to me:
First, we were solving a real problem. The beverage market was polarized – you had traditional Chinese teas that felt old-fashioned to younger consumers, and you had Western-style drinks that were often artificial and lacking nutritional value. There was this huge gap in the middle for something that was both authentically rooted and innovatively appealing.
Second, the timing was perfect. This was 2013, and I could see the wellness trend gaining momentum globally. People were becoming more conscious about what they consumed, seeking products that offered both pleasure and purpose. The concept of “food as medicine” was starting to resonate with modern consumers, especially in urban areas.
Third, the scalability potential was enormous. Unlike many food concepts that are region-specific, the desire for healthy, delicious beverages is universal. I could envision adapting this core concept – traditional wellness ingredients meets modern convenience – for different markets worldwide.
What Excited Me Most
But honestly, what got me most excited wasn’t just the business opportunity – it was the cultural bridge this could build. Here was a way to share the incredible wisdom of traditional Chinese wellness practices with the world, but in a format that felt accessible and contemporary rather than intimidating or foreign.
I saw the potential to create something that honored my heritage while speaking to universal human desires – the desire for health, for comfort, for connection to something authentic in our increasingly fast-paced world. This wasn’t about copying a Western concept or simply exporting a traditional one. This was about creating something entirely new that celebrated the best of both worlds.
The Validation
The emotional validation was immediate – seeing the joy on customers’ faces, the way this simple drink created a moment of pause and pleasure in their busy day. The logical validation came from observing the consistent demand, the word-of-mouth growth, the way this small shop had created something genuinely distinctive in a crowded marketplace.
I knew this was worthwhile because it solved multiple problems simultaneously: it gave health-conscious consumers a delicious option, it provided busy urban dwellers with convenient nutrition, and it created a new category that competitors couldn’t easily replicate because it required deep understanding of both traditional ingredients and modern consumer preferences.
That day in the Shanghai alley, I didn’t just discover a business idea – I found my calling. The idea of building bridges between tradition and innovation, between East and West, between wellness and pleasure, between individual success and community impact – that’s what made my heart race with possibility.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My Journey: From Corporate Executive to Purpose-Driven Entrepreneur
I’m Rongrong Zhou, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Auntea Jenny, and my path to entrepreneurship has been anything but linear. Before I became deeply immersed in the beverage industry, I spent years in the corporate world at a Fortune 500 company, where I developed expertise in training, channel management, and operations across multiple divisions. That experience taught me invaluable lessons about scaling businesses, understanding consumer behavior, and building sustainable operational systems – skills that would prove crucial when I later ventured into entrepreneurship.
But despite my corporate success, I always felt there was something more I was meant to create. I was drawn to the idea of building something that could make a meaningful difference in people’s daily lives, something that could honor my cultural heritage while addressing modern needs. That calling led me to co-found Auntea Jenny in 2013 with my husband, and it’s been the most fulfilling chapter of my professional life.
What We Do: Bridging Tradition and Innovation
Auntea Jenny is fundamentally about creating beverages that nourish both body and spirit. We’ve pioneered what I call “Modern Eastern Tea” – drinks that combine traditional wellness ingredients, particularly grains that have been valued in Chinese medicine for centuries, with contemporary flavors and preparation methods that appeal to today’s consumers.
Our product range has evolved significantly since our early days. We started with our signature grain-based teas, featuring drinks like our blood glutinous rice milk tea that became an instant hit. As we grew and learned more about different markets, we expanded into fresh fruit teas, artisanal coffee through our “Hu Coffee” brand, and innovative concepts like “Tea Waterfall.” This multi-brand approach allows us to serve different consumer preferences while maintaining our core commitment to quality and wellness.
What makes our products special isn’t just the unique flavor profiles – it’s the philosophy behind them. Every drink we create is designed with the principle that beverages can be both indulgent and nourishing. We’re not asking customers to choose between what tastes good and what’s good for them; we’re proving they can have both.
The Problems We Solve
In today’s fast-paced world, people face several challenges that our business directly addresses:
The Wellness Gap: Many consumers want healthier options but don’t want to sacrifice taste or convenience. Traditional health drinks often feel medicinal or boring, while delicious beverages are typically loaded with artificial ingredients. We’ve created a third option that delivers authentic wellness benefits without compromising on flavor or experience.
Cultural Connection: For Asian consumers, especially those living abroad, we provide a taste of home that feels both nostalgic and contemporary. For non-Asian consumers, we offer an authentic introduction to Eastern wellness traditions in an approachable format.
The Busy Lifestyle Challenge: Our customers are often professionals, students, and busy individuals who need convenient nutrition. Our drinks provide real nourishment – proteins, fiber, vitamins from grains and fresh fruits – in a grab-and-go format.
What Sets Us Apart
Several factors distinguish Auntea Jenny in a crowded beverage market:
Authentic Innovation: We don’t just add trendy ingredients to chase fads. Every product development decision is rooted in traditional wellness principles, then adapted with modern techniques and tastes. This gives us authenticity that competitors can’t easily replicate.
Cultural Bridge-Building: We’re not just exporting Asian products to Western markets or copying Western concepts for Asian consumers. We’re creating something genuinely new that celebrates the best of both traditions.
Scale with Soul: While we’ve grown to over 9,400 locations globally and became a publicly-traded company (HKEX: 02589), we’ve maintained our commitment to social impact. This isn’t corporate social responsibility as an afterthought – it’s integral to who we are.
Women’s Empowerment Focus: From day one, we’ve been committed to using our platform to support women. Our “Little Red Flower” initiative employs women facing challenges – single mothers, individuals with disabilities, rural women – creating dignified employment while celebrating their resilience.
What I’m Most Proud Of
Professionally, I’m incredibly proud that we’ve proven you can build a successful global business while staying true to your values. Being recognized on the Fortune China “Most Influential Businesswomen” list and among the “Top 50 Female Founders” feels meaningful because it represents validation that business can be a force for positive change.
But personally, what moves me most are the stories I hear from our customers and the women our programs support. When a single mother tells me that our employment initiative helped her achieve financial stability, or when a customer shares that our drinks helped them through a difficult time, that’s when I know we’re fulfilling our true purpose.
Our Mission Beyond Business
What I want people to understand about Auntea Jenny is that we’re not just in the beverage business – we’re in the business of empowerment. Our brand philosophy, “Follow Your Inner Cheetah, Love and Wink,” isn’t marketing speak. It’s a genuine invitation for people, especially women, to embrace their independence, explore their potential, and approach life with both confidence and lightness.
The “Love” represents independence, exploration, integration, and renewal – values I believe are essential for personal growth. The “Wink” embodies our inclusive, open, and confidently relaxed attitude toward life and business. We want our brand to give people permission to be authentically themselves.
Looking Forward
As we expand globally, including our recent entry into the U.S. market with our first New York location, my focus remains on maintaining the delicate balance between growth and authenticity, between honoring tradition and embracing innovation, between business success and social impact.
I want Auntea Jenny to be remembered not just as a successful beverage company, but as a catalyst that helped redefine what’s possible when business operates with both brilliance and heart. We’re proving that companies can be profitable while being purposeful, global while remaining culturally rooted, and successful while lifting others up.
For anyone following our journey, I hope our story inspires you to trust your instincts, honor your heritage, and build something that serves not just your ambitions but also your community. The world needs more businesses that see profit and purpose not as competing priorities, but as complementary forces that can create lasting positive change.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
One of our most challenging moments came in 2019 when we realized our beloved grain-based tea concept wasn’t resonating with southern Chinese markets the way it did in the north. While our warm, comforting grain teas were perfect for colder northern cities, customers in year-round warm climates wanted something lighter and more refreshing. Many advisors told us to stick with what was working, but I could see the writing on the wall – we needed to evolve or risk stagnation. Making the decision to pivot our entire product strategy to fresh fruit teas felt like starting over after six years of building our brand identity. The financial pressure was enormous, we had to retrain thousands of staff members, redesign our supply chain, and essentially rebuild our product development from scratch. There were nights when I questioned whether we were making a catastrophic mistake. But deep down, I knew that true resilience isn’t about stubbornly sticking to your original plan – it’s about having the courage to adapt when you recognize a better path forward. That pivot not only saved our business but transformed us into one of China’s top beverage brands and positioned us for our eventual IPO. It taught me that resilience isn’t just about weathering storms; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Coming from the corporate world, I was deeply conditioned to believe that success required having a comprehensive, foolproof plan before taking any major action. I spent months creating detailed business projections, market analyses, and operational frameworks before opening our first store – convinced that thorough planning would eliminate risk and guarantee success. But entrepreneurship quickly taught me that this mindset was not only unrealistic but actually counterproductive. When we discovered that tea shop in the Shanghai alley, my instinct was to spend another six months researching and planning, but my husband encouraged us to just start with what we knew and learn as we went. Our first store’s success came not from our elaborate plans but from our ability to observe customer reactions, adapt quickly, and iterate based on real feedback. The biggest breakthroughs in our journey – from the original grain tea concept to our 2019 fruit tea pivot to our recent brand evolution – all came from staying flexible and responsive rather than rigidly following predetermined strategies. I had to unlearn the corporate belief that uncertainty equals failure and embrace the entrepreneurial truth that uncertainty often equals opportunity. Now I tell aspiring entrepreneurs: plan enough to start, but stay agile enough to evolve.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aunteajenny.us/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aunteajennyus
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Auntea-Jenny-USA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/auntea-jenny-city-of-industry
