Passionate about cakes and sweets, do you dream of creating a bubble tea shop? You are in the right place! Bubble tea kiosk in mall or start a street bubble tea store becoming many retailers choice. If you are planning to start a bubble tea or juice bar business, This article reviews all the steps to open a bubble tea shop: market research, finding a location, and practical advice for writing a tea shop business plan.

Carry out the market research of a bubble tea shop

Before launching headlong into your project, it is essential to carry out a market study for your bubble tea shop.

Market research will allow you to verify your business creation project's commercial viability, better understand your future customers' expectations, and think about the best marketing strategy to communicate with your target audience.

The tea shop market research should include research on current trends in the industry, a thorough analysis of the competition, but also a study of the expectations of your potential customers.

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Sector analysis

The market research of a bubble tea shop should begin with thorough research of consumption habits and current trends in the sector. The objective of this part is to allow you to understand what are the challenges to be faced and to determine the most promising market segments.

It would be best if you also asked yourself the following questions:

  • What is the state of the sector: growing or shrinking? For what reasons?
  • What are the concepts that work? Those who walk less?
  • What are the main difficulties encountered?
  • Franchised vs Independent bubble tea shops: What Works Best?
  • How many times a week or month on average do people visit the tearoom?
  • What are the peak periods and the off-peak periods?
  • What is the average price spent per customer?
  • What part of the turnover is made on-site and taken away?
  • How much does food represent in turnover? What about the drinks?

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Evaluate demand at the level of the implantation area

Once you have honed your understanding of the industry, it will be time to look at the location's business potential.

The objective here is to assess the size of the local market and identify potential areas of the establishment.

You should also ask yourself the following questions:

  • What is the size of the local population?
  • What are the socio-demographic characteristics (ages, sexes, socio-professional categories, disposable income, unemployment rate, etc.)?
  • What are the attractive places in the city (pedestrian street, city centre, financial district, train station, etc.)?

Analysis of the competition at the level of the implantation area

You will then need to familiarize yourself with the offer already present on the market you wish to invest in:

  • How many bubble tea shops are there already?
  • Where are they located?
  • What kind of drinks do they offer?
  • Are they franchisees or self-employed?
  •  What is their pricing policy?
  • How much area do they have?
  • How many employees do they have?
  • What turnover do they achieve?
  • What is their fill rate?

After performing these analyzes, you should be able to determine if the market is large enough to support the arrival of a new entrant (i.e. your tearoom), have identified exciting locations, and get a good idea of ​​the concepts that may work given the characteristics of the population and what your competitors are already offering.

The French bubble tea shop market

Conjuncture

Previously reserved for an elite, the bubble tea shop is now on the rise in France, where the number of openings increases. A similar trend can be observed in tea shops: Kusmi Thé, Mariages Frères, and Le Palais du Thé are also increasing the number of openings of points of sale.

Following the destructuring of meals, the French are increasingly looking for snacks and appreciate a friendly pleasure break in the afternoon, around a hot drink.

We can also note that tea consumption has continued to increase in France over the past 20 years, especially since tea enjoys a powerful image as a healthy drink, unlike coffee.

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Typology of the bubble tea shop market

The bubble tea shop market is split into three major groups:

  • Independent bubble tea shops
  • bubble tea shops and coffee shops under brand names: purely tea or coffee concepts remain rare, and there are primarily franchises offering different types of hot drinks, accompanied by pastries, such as the American giant Starbucks, Columbus Café Co, Coffea, Cak ' T, Cha Yuan, or even Mc Café.
  • Bakery-cafes: These are networks offering both the sale of bread, pastries and pastries and a consumption area to satisfy new nomadic consumption habits. This segment includes chains such as Paul, La Brioche Dorée, La Croissanterie, and Le Fournil de Pierre.

Some aspects of the regulation of bubble tea shops

There is a multitude of rules to follow when opening a bubble tea shop. 

First, as with any restaurant, a bubble tea shop must have at least one individual with training in food hygiene. When setting up the bubble tea shop, it is also necessary to register with the Departmental Directorate in charge of the Protection of Populations.

There are also many standards to be respected concerning safety and hygiene: health standards (regulation 852/2004 of April 29, 2004, on health safety, a decree of December 21, 2009, on the conservation of perishable products), or standards of safety for establishments open to the public (layout of premises, electrical installations, cooking appliances, etc.).

Finally, suppose you want to sell cakes by display showcases that you have made yourself. In that case, you will need to obtain a pastry diploma or prove a professional experience of at least 3 years as a pastry chef, business manager or self-employed worker (law 96-603 of July 5, 1996).

Choice of bubble tea shop concept

Once the market research of your bubble tea shop has been carried out, it is then necessary to look at the concept of the bubble tea shop you want to open.

Several options are available to you: set up a traditional pastry bubble tea shop, or create a themed bubble tea shop, such as a bookshop bubble tea shop, in which you organize literary meetings or signing sessions with writers.

The choice of concept will depend in part on the type of clientele you want to develop. Are you targeting lovers of good pastries to taste in a cosy atmosphere or rather young urbanites who love trendy concepts?

What about the atmosphere to give to your bubble tea shop? From warm and retro decors to zen and refined atmospheres, through cosy English atmospheres, the options are endless.

Another option is to open a branded bubble tea shop, which will allow you to benefit from the reputation and experience of a proven network, but in return, it will significantly limit your room for manoeuvre.

In any case, it is essential to give your bubble tea shop its own identity to stand out from the crowd and stand out from the competition.

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Finding a location for your bubble tea shop

After you have decided on the type of bubble tea shop you want to open, you will need to consider its location. As an essential aspect of your project, the location of your bubble tea shop will have a direct influence on the success of your business.

A sufficiently high traffic location is essential so that your bubble tea shop benefits from good visibility. It is also essential that it is easy to access, whether by car or by public transport.

You also choose to take over an existing bubble tea shop to benefit from an already equipped room and a clientele already in place.

Choice of the legal structure of your bubble tea shop

Choosing the legal status of your bubble tea shop is a step that should not be overlooked because it will have an influence both on your business (administrative formalities, governance, method of taxation, etc.), but also on your personal life. (social regime, liability for debts, etc.).

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The human and material needs necessary to open a bubble tea shop

Once you have settled on the concept of your tearoom, its location, and the legal structure of your business, it's time to think about the initial investments required to open a tearoom.

In terms of equipment, you will need, among other things, furniture to receive customers, crockery, a refrigerated counter to present pastries and a refrigerated room to store them, a cash register. If you opt for a bubble tea shop with a pastry shop, the cost of fitting out the commercial space will be higher because you will need additional equipment.

The decoration of your room, following the chosen theme, can turn out to be another significant expense item.

The success of a tearoom depends mainly on the quality of the teas and the pastries, but also on the welcome and the atmosphere, it is, therefore, necessary to make sure to recruit qualified and efficient personnel.

Finally, setting up a bubble tea shop also requires taking out several insurance policies to cover yourself against the risks inherent in the profession and possibly calling on an accountant to help you manage it.

The marketing plan of a bubble tea shop

Setting up a marketing plan for your bubble tea shop is essential to make it known and retain your customers.

Here, you will need to list and quantify the cost of the commercial actions to be implemented. Also, be sure not to overlook the impact of social media and online review sites on your strategy. Their impact is growing in the restaurant industry.

The business plan of a bubble tea shop

Once you have gathered all the elements mentioned in the previous parts, it will be time to write the business plan for your bubble tea shop.

The business plan is a document presenting in detail your project and its financial objectives for the years to come. It allows banks or investors to assess the project's financing needs, its potential for profitability, and the risks associated with its implementation.

In a simplified way, a tea shop business plan consists of 2 parts:

  • A written part used to present the project and highlight its strengths
  • A quantified part, which is the financial forecast, used to highlight the need for financing and the profitability potential of your business

We, therefore, better understand the importance of the business plan. It must reflect your work and the seriousness of your professional project and therefore be perfect in both substance and form.