The bubble tea industry, which has about 500,000 points of sale and a large number of brands, some of which are listed on the stock exchange, has seen rapid growth in China in recent years.
Teenagers, who are naturally inclined to try everything new, are the most interested in the product, which has become very popular among young people. ChineseFor its sweet taste and availability in bright colors and different flavors.
Bubble tea is a tea drink that features tapioca balls and comes in a wide range of flavours, with or without milk, and has gained popularity in China as the country has experienced an economic boom in recent decades.
Boba tea, or pearl milk tea, is made from tea, milk, and sweeteners and is usually high in sugar and calories. The tapioca pearls also contain guar gum.
Despite the success of this product, investors in it have begun to feel concerned with the recent decline in demand for it, due to the high unemployment rate among young people aged between 16 and 24. This group has witnessed a significant increase in unemployment rates, reaching 17.1%, which is the highest level since the beginning of the year according to statistics and figures.
It seems that Chinese youth are beginning to be affected by the economic crisis, and are looking for lower-priced products, which may force them to give up “bubble tea,” according to economists’ expectations.
In major cities and shopping malls, there has been a significant increase in the number of stores that provide these drinks and their points of sale in record time. The market is “saturated,” notes Stacey Chen, an expert on new-generation teas, who has about 180,000 followers on Chinese social media.
The young woman noted that there are “a lot of new brands and products on the market” in this field, indicating that “lowering prices” is the only way for brands to survive in light of the decline in consumers’ tendency to spend.
“A large cup of sweet tea costs just 4 yuan, or about 55 cents,” the social media star noted as she searched for new flavours in a store.
The bubble tea sector, which includes about 500,000 points of sale and countless brands, some of which are listed on the stock exchange, has seen rapid growth in recent years.
Companies resort to reducing prices
One of the companies that has cut prices the most is the “Mixio Pingqing” brand, which was founded by two brothers in 1997 and was originally just an ice cream company.
Evelyn Zhang of marketing firm China Skinny recalled that Meixue was “the first to invest in the low-priced milk tea field.”
This choice adopted by the company is bearing fruit today given the economic situation.
The company's visual logo, a smiling snowman holding an ice cream cone, is now widely visible across China.
“The price of other types of tea is very high,” noted Guo Jun, 21. The young woman, who lives in Beijing, got a discount that allowed her to enjoy the frozen lemonade at a very low price of 2.8 yuan (about 40 cents of the dollar).
“The pressure at work is big, the economy is not good, and salaries are not high, so (young people) act very rationally” when they consume, Guo Jun explained.
“Many cafes and restaurants are adapting and lowering their prices,” said Evelyn Zhang of China Skinny.
Even American Starbucks, which the Chinese used to consider trendy places offering high-quality products, is now facing difficulties as several local chains resort to cutting prices.
“Before, everyone (in China) saw coffee as an imported, luxury product,” said social media star Stacey Chen, who is famous for her posts about bubble tea.
“Today I can buy the same luxury product for 9.9 yuan,” or about $1.38, she added. “Why should I pay more than 20 yuan for milk tea?” I asked.
Not only in China
Despite the distances separating it from China, bubble tea is widespread in many countries around the world, where it is known by different names such as:Bubble tea and boba tea have broken boundaries to become an important beverage for millennials.
In 2020, bubble tea became an official symbol of Taiwan, and a national day was dedicated to it, set for April 30. According to the American network CNN, the new drink is now served as an alternative to soft drinks and soda with fast food.
Disadvantages of Bubble Tea
As mentioned earlier, boba tea is made from tea, milk and sweeteners which makes it high in sugar and calories, which can contribute to obesity or even diabetes if consumed in excess.
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The tapioca pearls it contains, in turn, contain guar gum, an additive that may cause constipation.
According to the British newspaper, The Independent, doctors removed more than 300 kidney stones from the kidneys of a 20-year-old woman in Taiwan after she was admitted to hospital suffering from fever and severe back pain.
Doctors discovered stones that looked like “small steamed buns”, which appeared to have been caused by the young woman's excessive consumption of bubble tea.
The Chi Mei Medical Center in Tainan said on its website that a CT scan showed the stones were between 5mm and 2cm in size, and an accompanying blood test revealed an increased white blood cell count.
The tests and examinations revealed that the young woman preferred to drink bubble tea rather than water, which she did not enjoy drinking, and this led to the formation of stones.
Source : The Island + French + social media sites
