Story By: Lee Bullen,Sub Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Central European News

This tea shop logo – reportedly of a cup and a big straw – has caused a stir on social media after sniggering netizens pointed out to the new owner that the design really looks like something else.

Dew Thai tea shop, recently opened in the district of Tondo in the Philippine capital Manila, specialises in Thai-style milk teas and popular bubble teas, which originated in Taiwan in the 1980s.

The owner of the shop, which also sells burgers and other snacks, revealed that she designed the logo herself and that it is meant to represent a plastic cup and a big straw.

The woman, identified by her first name Irish, told Coconuts Manila: “Actually I’ve received many DMs (direct messages) regarding the logo. I have to explain to people one by one that it’s actually just a big straw inserted in a cup.

Irish said that her small business started operating two weeks ago and it is her first foray into the the food industry.

She added: “I created the logo myself using an app called Logo Maker.

“We wanted a minimal design so I Googled a lot of milk tea logos. To be unique and creative, we thought we would focus on the straw.

“I guess it depends how people look at it, because everyone’s mind and perspective works differently.”

Irish said: “Some laughed, some were disgusted. I guess in the end it still worked because that’s the goal of a logo, right? To catch people’s attention.”

Ironically, the shop owner admitted that she was even mulling over the slogan “size does not matter” when netizens suggested her logo may not be perceived as a cup and straw.

Irish admitted that it is risky to launch a new business during the COVID-19 pandemic, but explained that her small tea shop has provided jobs to several neighbours.

She also said that customers are pouring in from outside the district thanks to her viral logo.

Irish even recently tweaked the logo design to give it a slightly flatter straw tip.

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