PEARL MILK TEA MARKET ANALYSIS

Pearl Milk Tea Market, by Ingredients (Black Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Oolong Tea, and Others), by Flavored Powder (Almond Powder, Avocado Powder, Black Tea Powder, Frozen Coffee Powder, and Others), and by Distribution Channel (Hypermarket, Supermarket, Specialty Stores, Online Stores, Convenience Stores, and Others) - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis 2018-2026

Pearl milk tea is a tea-based beverage, which is also known as boba juice, bubble tea, simply boba or bubble milk tea. Pearl milk tea is made by blending fruits, milk with tea along with tapioca, and can be consumed in both cold and hot forms. Bubble tea serves as a substitute to green tea, as it is highly cost-effective as compared to green tea. Its wide availability has led to increased consumption as compared to normal tea. This in turn, is increasing the demand for bubble tea among the young populace. The availability of varied fruit flavored bubble tea such as strawberry, honeydew, mango, green apple, and lychee among others is expected to drive growth of the pearl milk tea market during the forecast period. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the pearl milk tea drinks are a part of sugar?sweetened beverages (SSB) group, as these beverages are sweetened with high?fructose corn syrup (HFCS). These drinks thus pose a public health concern, as pearl milk tea drink fits the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for the definition of a SSB. The central ingredient of a pearl milk tea or a boba tea are the boba or pearl balls, which are made of tapioca with high sugar content and hence may accelerate the onset of diabetes and weight gain on regular consumption.

Market Dynamics

Some of the major factors driving growth of the pearl milk tea market are its properties such as low calorie and low-fat content, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, and anti-carcinogenic. Pearl milk tea is a specialty tea and according to the Specialty Food Association, the sales of specialty tea was over 18% in 2015, which is a major opportunity for market players such as CuppoTee Company, Lollicup USA Inc., and Gong Cha USA. Bubble tea is a ready-to-drink beverage, which is highly preferred by the increasing working population. This in turn is expected to boost growth of the pearl milk tea during the forecast period. For instance, according to USDA Foreign Agricultural Service in Indonesia, in 2014, the value of ready-to-drink tea accounted to be US$ 32 billion in 2016, which is expected to grow up to US$ 41 billion by 2020.

Market Outlook

The coffee market in U.S. is expected to act as a restraining factor to the pearl milk tea market. The coffee market is accounted to be US$ 85 billion in 2015 and has the first position in coffee consumption while it is ranked fourth in tea consumption according to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2015. Other restraining factor of the pearl milk tea market is the sugar and calorie content present in pearl milk tea. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the total caloric and the sugar content of pearl milk tea drinks is alarming with respect to overweight and obesity rates in Asian youth. However the consumption can done in a healthier ways as suggested by WHO, the pearl milk tea without the milk, lower sugar content, or excluding the additional ingredients such as tapioca, jelly, and pudding. These alternatives will reduce the total caloric content value of the pearl milk tea beverages, which would fit the USDA Dietary Guidelines for added sugars beverages.

Pearl tea acts as an antioxidant due to the presence of polyphenols, which helps to slow the oxidation damage to the body such as it helps to prevent the damage of fatty tissue, DNA, and proteins in our body. Among ingredients, the green tea segment is expected to gain high traction, as green tea acts as a better antioxidant than the other ingredients.

Some of the major players in the pearl milk tea market include Bubble Tea House Company, Bubblelicious Tea, Lollicup USA Inc., Ten Ren's Tea Time, Boba Box Limited, Sumos Sdn Bhd, Gong Cha USA, Boba Tea Company, Troika JC. (Qbubble), and Fokus Inc.

Pearl Milk Tea Market Taxonomy

On the basis of ingredient, the global pearl milk tea market is classified into:

• Black Tea
• Green Tea
• White Tea
• Oolong Tea
• Others

On the basis of flavored powder, the global pearl milk tea market is classified into:

• Almond Powder
• Avocado Powder
• Black Tea Powder
• Frozen Coffee Powder
• Others

On the basis of distribution channel, the global pearl milk tea market is classified into:

• Hypermarket
• Supermarket
• Specialty Stores
• Convenience Stores
• Online Stores
• Others

Pearl Milk Tea/ Bubble Tea Market Key Developments:

Key players functioning in pearl milk tea market are adopting various strategic initiatives including product developments and mergers & acquisition in order to maintain their competitive position in the global market.

For instance, in September, OCOCO International Co., Ltd. launched its first Northern California outlet CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, U.S. This is expected to strengthen CoCo’s market position in North America.

Furthermore, in November 2017, Kung Fu Tea, entered into partnership with TKK International Inc., a U.S.-based quick service restaurant brand. This will help Kung Fu Tea to expand its bubble tea business in the U.S. market.

For instance, in January 2019, Boba Guys opened a new store at Town & County Village in Palo Alto, U.S. The company plans to offer bubble tea made from real tea leaves instead of powders. This will help Boba Guys to expand its business in the U.S. market.

In 2019, Real Fruit Bubble Tea planned to open new stores in the U.S. by the end of 2019. These stores are expected to be opened at American Dream Meadowlands Mall, Bright Water Commons Mall, and Woodbridge Center in the U.S.