Hi I am a young college entrepreneur looking to start an Asian Boba Tea Business. Anybody ever work in that business that could help out? Any advice/tips on start-up would be GREATLY appreciated as well. Thank you!
Asian Bubble Boba Tea Business
Hi I am a young college entrepreneur looking to start an Asian Boba Tea Business. Anybody ever work in that business that could help out? Any advice/tips on start-up would be GREATLY appreciated as well. Thank you!
Can you give us some information as to what it is? At least I have never heard of it. Also how is it currently being sold, who's your competition etc.
Sorry... we can't legally smoke that in the US. lmao Just joking. It is a popular tea but not sure what he wants to do with it...??? Maybe something like a Star Bucks except with tea...???
Hi, if it is what I think it is - it is a retail shop that sells flavored teas, smoothies, and other dessert drinks. "Boba" refers to the soft tapioca balls that are added to the drink, to give you something to chew on while sipping your drink... yum
Good for your diet? No! Popular with kids,teens, and sugar-addicted adults? Yes!
I'm not very knowledgeable with retail businesses, but I know that you'll need to find a location with a high pedestrian count. Preferably a location that sees a lot of warm weather. Two obvious concepts, I'm sure. Can you visit other similar shops, not in your immediate target area, and ask the owners for some friendly advice? If they know you won't be in competition, they might help.
I have some related experience, having opened a coffeehouse about a decade ago. Boba Tea was the hot new thing at the time. We didn't go for it. In our market, we didn't think we'd sell enough of them in a day to make it profitable.
With any business, there are many factors you need to consider. This is going to be a local business. Do people in the area already know what bubble tea is, or will they have to be educated? Are there already successful bubble tea shops in the area? Is there an under-served market?
If the answer is "no" to those questions, then I would strongly recommend a "pushcart" or "food truck" business to start because the investment is much lower and different locations can be tested for response. Also, it's easier to sell a cart or truck to someone else, should it not be as profitable. Social media, especially Twitter, can be a huge advantage for a mobile vendor. You can build up a following of customers, then tweet where you'll be located on any given day, plus get customers to "vote" your next day's location. By building up a clientele using social media, it then becomes possible to build up to a more permanent, physical location and already have customers waiting at your door on opening day.
You really need to understand your demographic to build a successful business. Bubble tea fits a young, urban, cosmopolitan demographic. You need to find your crowd and cater to them. You're not going to convert many people to the product outside of their peer group. Do the market research and I suspect you will find that once a person hits 21, they've moved on from bubble tea to other kinds of beverages.
My $.02
I've been dancing on the bleeding edge of technology for 30 years and I still have all of my toes. :-) | ProSocialTools.com | No neckties!!!!
I have some related experience, having opened a coffeehouse about a decade ago. Boba Tea was the hot new thing at the time. We didn't go for it. In our market, we didn't think we'd sell enough of them in a day to make it profitable.
With any business, there are many factors you need to consider. This is going to be a local business. Do people in the area already know what bubble tea is, or will they have to be educated? Are there already successful bubble tea shops in the area? Is there an under-served market?
If the answer is "no" to those questions, then I would strongly recommend a "pushcart" or "food truck" business to start because the investment is much lower and different locations can be tested for response. Also, it's easier to sell a cart or truck to someone else, should it not be as profitable. Social media, especially Twitter, can be a huge advantage for a mobile vendor. You can build up a following of customers, then tweet where you'll be located on any given day, plus get customers to "vote" your next day's location. By building up a clientele using social media, it then becomes possible to build up to a more permanent, physical location and already have customers waiting at your door on opening day.
You really need to understand your demographic to build a successful business. Bubble tea fits a young, urban, cosmopolitan demographic. You need to find your crowd and cater to them. You're not going to convert many people to the product outside of their peer group. Do the market research and I suspect you will find that once a person hits 21, they've moved on from bubble tea to other kinds of beverages.
My $.02
I've been dancing on the bleeding edge of technology for 30 years and I still have all of my toes. :-) | ProSocialTools.com | No neckties!!!!
I like boba tea very asian! This would be a great idea if you had a large asian community. Sometimes I think It's out of the ordinary and it may be an acquired taste kind of thing. It depends where you set up shop. If you were to look at the community and see how diverse it is there's a chance Boba will sell. I would imagine selling this in a chinatown or a small diverse open market.
As a boba fanatic.. all I say is make sure you have good syrup with pulp and be careful not to over soak your bubbles. Make a nice lounge environment and don't be cheap with the covering. Boba is a beautiful thing but many people screw it up with cheap powders, boring lids/hard plastic, soggy or undersoaked bubbles, or over sugary mixtures. Good boba tastes like drinking gummy bears.
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