Milk tea or Nai Cha came from Taiwan in the early 1980s and became extremely popular when it hit the worldwide market. Milk tea includes brewed tea, milk, sweetened tapioca pearls or other sinkers and ice. The drink is most delicious during summer months but can be enjoyed any time of the year.
Popular flavors differ from every country, but the base is the same four ingredients.
How to start a milk tea or bubble tea business
Work on your Menu
You can do a little bit of research on what are the most suitable flavors that your customers want. The level of sweetness and choice of sinkers. If possible, create an original so that you have an edge.
Go for a Good Location
A good location is a crucial element in any business. Since we are talking about milk tea, the most suitable places are near a school, shopping district, or inside a mall. The target market is usually young people who love sweet and refreshing drinks at any time of the day or people who need a quick, tasty drink while running errands or going on dates.
Invest in Better Equipment
Pieces of equipment needed include refrigerator, tables and chairs, sealing machine, pearl cooker, storage, cash register and those for making the bubble tea.
Design the Store and Product
The store has no generic image so the design can be anywhere from simple, to fun and youthful. Arrange the store from a good kitchen area, counter for the orders and tables and chairs for your customers. Try to take pictures of your store to make sure it will look good when shared.
Employees
At the start, if you want to cut on expenses, you can hire one staff for the kitchen and then you as the cashier and server. Training is a bit easy since cooking and mixing the beverage is quite on the simpler side.
Permits
After preparing everything, make sure to secure the necessary license in your area. If there are no shops like yours, look for coffee shops permits since it’s closest to that standard.
After doing everything above, you can finally start to open your milk tea business. A little marketing can be helpful to startups, so make sure to market in social media.