By: Lauren Landry

The boba tea business is a highly competitive industry. Edge off your competition by following these marketing strategies.

Marketing your boba tea business can be both fun and challenging. Designing new packaging and brainstorming contest ideas are exciting, but the uncertainty of success can be nerve-racking. Add the fact that this type of business currently has high competition, as the global bubble tea market continues to grow and is expected to reach 4.3 billion dollars by 2027.

With that being said, you'll need to work extra hard to get and retain your customers' attention. Here are five ways to market your boba tea business today:

1. Use seasonal packaging.

2. Go eco-friendly.

3. Offer new and exciting flavors.

4. Offer snacks and other food items.

5. Give rewards to loyal customers.

#1 Use seasonal packaging.

Don’t just focus on cups; you can also change your straws and napkins to something different for the holidays, like this red beverage napkin from Karat.

It is important for any business to consider seasonal packaging to boost sales and edge off competitors. In fact, when Toblerone changed its brand name to ‘Ho Ho Ho’ on its packaging in the holiday season of 2006, sales increased by 400%. That’s the power of seasonal packaging!

As for boba tea businesses, cups are not the only ones that can be switched up for the holidays. Other items like straws and paper napkins can be temporarily changed, and these items are readily available in a boba supply store without the need to pre-order them. For instance, Karat Earth’s paper straws are available in red and white stripes, which are reminiscent of candy canes. And instead of using regular white paper napkins, go for festive green ones like Karat green beverage napkins.

#2 Go eco-friendly

Rebrand as an eco-friendly boba tea business. Becoming a sustainable business has so many benefits. Aside from reduced costs, an eco-friendly boba tea shop can improve sustainability, enhance brand image, and attract more customers. In fact, according to Statista, almost half of consumers are interested in purchasing from sustainable or environmentally friendly brands in 2020. Also, 44 percent said they like brands that support recycling.

There are many ways on how you can make the switch. An excellent way to start is to use cups, straws, and paper bags made from biodegradable materials. One such example is Karat Earth's PLA Eco-Friendly Cups that even come with the green logo. You can also encourage customer participation by asking them to reuse their cup jackets in exchange for a discount or a perk. 

#3 Offer new and exciting flavors.

Customers have their favorite boba tea flavor. However, using flavor as a business-building strategy is quite effective. Flavor innovations can boost your brand offerings which then can keep your customers coming back for more. You can also take advantage of the FOMO, in which customers will be encouraged to try these new flavors for fear of missing out on the trend.

However, before you release the new flavors, make sure that you’ve tested them among your staff and friends. If the flavors get positive feedback, then it’s a good sign. Otherwise, it’s time to experiment with new flavors and try again. Make sure that the flavors you create will appeal to most of the consumer segments.

#4 Offer snacks and other food items.

Breakfast bowls complement both cold and hot tea drinks.

A boba tea business should not just exclusively offer drinks. You may have a diverse selection of hot and cold flavors, but without snack and food offerings, your competition may just crush you. Most boba tea shops today offer food items that are best eaten with the drinks. 

So what types of snacks complement boba tea? There are two types of people -- those who prefer to eat sweet and those who like savory. With that in mind, you should not just focus on desserts but should also offer items like savory waffles, bread, and even small servings of pasta or rice bowls. Offer a wide range of selections, but make sure that they all complement both your hot and cold drinks.

#5 Give rewards to loyal customers.

Finally, make sure that you offer rewards to your loyal, repeat customers. They deserve all the love because they are your shop’s number one supporters. Loyalty programs are created to encourage repeat purchases by providing customers special discounts, unique offers, and more. Aside from showing customer appreciation, rewards programs can nudge loyal customers to spend more, reactive dormant customers, and attract new ones.

There are various creative ways to offer rewards, and here are three ideas that you might want to consider:

• Loyalty card scheme: Give customers a card that you can stamp with every purchase, and when they reach a particular target number, they get a free snack or free drink upgrade.
• Invite your loyal customers to trial new flavors: This is very helpful when you are experimenting with new flavors. Doing so will likely result in word-of-mouth recommendations later on.
• Referral rewards: Give customers a reason to recommend your boba tea shop to their friends by offering them discounts or freebies in return for every new customer they bring into the store.

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