Table Of Contents
Roshan Deshmukh
Vidit Gite
Bubble Tea: A new trend in the beverage industry
Popular for decades, bubble tea, often called boba tea, is a popular beverage. Traditionally, tapioca pearls, or "boba," are placed at the bottom of this tea-based beverage. With individuals of all ages appreciating the distinct flavor and texture of the beverage, bubble tea has grown in popularity in recent years. The US media has previously extensively reported the meteoric growth in bubble tea's significance and appeal. The 1990s saw the opening of Los Angeles' first boba shop, as reported by LA Weekly.
The global bubble tea market has witnessed significant growth over the years and is expected to grow at a steady pace during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the growing health awareness and rise in adoption of bubble tea, owing to its health benefits and popularity among health-conscious consumers and young generation. Availability of bubble tea at lower prices and introduction of additional healthy ingredients in it by different market players drive the global bubble tea market growth. In addition, rise in number of vegan people also helps to drive the growth of the market. However, excess sugar content in these drinks lead to health issues and the trend of coffee consumption are expected to restrict the market growth. In addition, due to the presence of artificial preservatives in the bubble tea, consumers are changing their preference toward organic beverages, which hampers the growth of the global bubble tea market. On the contrary, introduction of various new flavors and blends and high demand among young population for a variety of teas are expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the market expansion.
Players operating in the bubble tea market are launching different types of flavors such as fruit flavor, chocolate flavor, and varying coffee beverage flavors to expand their product portfolio and sales in the market. Fruit flavors include plum, lychee, banana, green apple, kiwi, watermelon, cantaloupe, and other attractive flavors. Other distinctive flavors include barley, caramel, lavender, and avocado. This wide range of flavors allow consumers to choose their favourite bubble tea, thus providing a major opportunity for the future market growth.
Carbonated drinks are harmful beverages containing dissolved carbon dioxide, usually prepared by mixing sweet syrup and carbonated water in their chilled state. Currently, the demand for these drinks is reported to continuously decrease, owing to its side effects such as belching, heartburn, increase in risk of obesity, tooth decay, and reduced bone strength. Such factors lead to decrease in sales of carbonated drinks, which is anticipated to decrease further during the forecast period, owing to surge in awareness among people regarding the aforementioned side effect. This in turn increases the consumption of bubble tea and boosts the market growth.
Some of the players that offer bubble tea are Lollicup USA Inc., CuppoTee Company, Bubble Tea House Company, Ten Ren's Tea Time, Boba Box Limited, Sumos Sdn Bhd, Gong Cha USA, Boba Tea Company, Troika JC. (Qbubble), and Fokus Inc.
Global Bubble Tea Market Outlook:
The retail industry is the economy sector that includes companies and individuals involved in selling of finished products and goods to end users. A wide range of bubble tea and related products are sold through various retail channels such as hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, discounters, forecourt retailers, and grocery stores. Internet retailing, discounters, and convenience stores are the fastest growing retailers in the bubble tea industry. These stores act as global marketing tools that assist in building an impressive premium image and increase brand exposure of a wide variety of bubble tea products. Hence, the retail expansion is a significant factor that accelerates the market growth.
Thus, bubble tea is slowly gaining popularity in different regions across the world, owing to its refreshing taste and chewy texture of the tapioca balls. This has led companies to produce ready-to-drink bubble tea in mass volumes. This mass-produced bubble tea contains large volume of artificial preservatives & color that increases its shelf life and makes its appearance attractive. The use of artificial preservatives & color in bubble tea lead to various health problems in the long run. Furthermore, bubble tea contains high levels of sugar, which may lead to health risks. Owing to increase in health consciousness, individuals are on a constant lookout for organic and natural ingredients used in the manufacturing of bubble tea. Thus, the use of artificial preservatives & color and excess sugar in the bubble tea restrains the growth of the market.
Tea is a beverage, which is highly consumed by people across the globe. Young consumers are attracted toward bubble tea due to its variety of flavors. Growing number of shops and businesses in the bubble tea industry further boost the growth of the market. Moreover, new innovations in flavors and growth in popularity of bubble tea among all age groups in the North America is responsible to drive the growth of the bubble tea market in this region. In North America, the U.S. is the highest contributor toward the growth of bubble tea market. Most of the U.S. population consumes coffee and chocolate-flavored bubble tea, and over the years, the per capita consumption of tea is increasing, owing to rise in preference for healthy beverages and hectic lifestyle of people. Moreover, Canada and Mexico are dominated by green and black bubble tea-consuming population, owing to the health benefits offered these teas. Thus, the global bubble tea market holds a substantial scope for growth during the forecast period. Presently, the market is moving toward growing stage and is expected to garner steady growth in major markets, which include the U.S., Germany, China, India, and Brazil.
