Zero&, an independent tea chain that serves handcrafted fruit tea, will open several locations in SoCal in the next few months.
One of the locations will be at The Shops at Mission Viejo, which is set to open in December.
Zero& was founded in 2020, but didn’t open its first location until 2021, according to founder Toby Sun.
“We spent almost a year really just testing, researching and evaluating our menu and product,” Sun said.
Part of what makes Zero& unique is the ingredient, Sun added. The product is made with real fruit, instead of artificial flavoring syrup.
“We take that seriously because it not only elevates the taste, but it’s healthy,” Sun said. “That’s something I want myself, my kids, my family and my friends to drink more often without hesistating about high calories.”
Another differentiating factor is that the tea store launches one or two new tea products every month. Finally, the zero calorie option comes from using monk fruit.
“It actually give you the authentic and super delicious tastes to enhance our tea,” Sun said.
Currently, the store has locations in Pleasanton, San Francisco and Newark.
It is expanding to SoCal because of customers, Sun said.
“We’ve had constant requests from SoCal asking us to come,” he said. “Earlier this year we started the journey to look at different locations and find our first home there.”
Mission Viejo shopping center will be Zero&’s first SoCal location. The second location will be at Ontario Mill Mall. The third will be at Westfield Culver City.
“We love SoCal just because of great weather, nice neighborhood, and people love trying new things,” Sun said. “Mission Viejo is one of the neighborhoods where you don’t see a lot of tea concept there. We’re just super excited to introduce our brand and product.”
Other than tea, Zero& sells its Hanabi bakery products which includes such as chiffon cakes, French mousse cakes and creative croissants. The croissant flavors include Thai tea, orange and gray flavor.
