How to Start Your Own Business: Opening a Boba Shop
A decade ago, if you said you wanted to open a boba shop, you’d be met with blank stares from most people. Now, however, boba is in high demand, with a survey finding that 94% of people between the ages of 20 and 29 purchased boba in the preceding three months. There’s no surprise why the Taiwanese drink, also known as bubble tea, has taken America by storm, as it comes in a variety of creative flavors and is filled with yummy tapioca pearls. After all, when else can you eat your drink?
To meet the boom in popularity for this tasty beverage, a number of boba shops have opened, each with their own menu and vibe. For those entering the boba market, it is therefore important to create a strong brand that will stand out among the competition and to run a smooth ship with the help of an advanced POS system. Keep reading to understand the essentials for opening a successful boba shop.
Building a Bubble Tea Business Plan
The first step to opening your boba shop is to make a business plan. This includes doing local market research to understand the level of competition as well as where demand is coming from. Generally, boba consumers skew on the young side (ages 18-30), so it’s important that this demographic is considered in your planning. For example, opening your boba shop near a college or university could be beneficial for your bottom line.
Next, you’ll have to decide on a concept for your boba shop. In other words: what will you specialize in that sets your business apart from the competition? For instance, you could offer a build-your-own boba or focus on the health market. Research is vital in this step because it will help you identify potential gaps in the market.
At this stage, it is also important to build a solid financial plan, comprising your budget, investment options, and revenue expectations in the first years of operation. The good news is that boba shop profit margins can be substantially higher than those of a restaurant (we’re talking in the range of 20% higher) because overhead is relatively low.
Setting Up Your Boba Shop
Once your business plan is in place, the next phase in opening your business is getting the shop ready. There are several considerations in this planning stage, including:
Choosing a boba shop location near your target market
Complying with local regulations, including acquiring the necessary business permits and food handling certifications
Ordering the equipment you need for your food service (brewers, blenders, ice machine, etc.)
Building your menu, including different types of teas, tapioca, and toppings, as well as other foods like pastries and ice cream
Finding trusted suppliers for boba ingredients and packaging
Choosing a POS system that will enable your business to operate smoothly
Marketing Your Boba Shop
We can’t overstate the importance of creating strong marketing for your boba shop, not least because marketing and social media have been integral to the rise in popularity of boba. The colorful, highly aesthetic nature of bubble tea is already working in your favor when it comes to establishing visuals, so lean in and decorate your shop in a dynamic and appealing way.
Having an aesthetic location and good branding visuals is just part of the marketing equation, it’s also important for boba shops to make the most out of social media. Invite customers to review and tag your products online, set up an Instagrammable feature wall to encourage organic posting, and share the latest flavors and specials with your followers.
We also recommend implementing some in-person marketing strategies, like having a grand opening day with special promotions or setting up a loyalty program for returning customers. And don’t worry about asking customers to hold onto a stamp card: SumUp’s POS system can help your team manage loyalty programs by inputting customer data, tracking purchases and automatically sending out custom promotions.
Running Your Boba Shop
Once you’ve cut the ribbon on your boba shop, the day-to-day operations will take over. These will involve the obvious things like greeting customers and making boba, but also include behind-the-scenes jobs like staffing, inventory management, and strategic decision making. A POS system like SumUp can support you in the day-to-day by facilitating payments for customers, as well as helping to manage ingredient inventories, and providing valuable sales data that can inform future promotions and menu changes.
Now that you know how to open a boba shop, the next step is to make it happen! Get in touch with SumUp today to learn more about how our POS system can support your Boba Tea business.
