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Celine Sun

'Bubble tea'  from Taiwan is taking off in Hong Kong, but already some are asking when the bubble will burst.
Small takeaway shops selling Taiwanese-style beverages, including the island's  bubble tea - a drink made with Chinese tea and milk and served with tapioca balls - have sprung up in   the city in recent months. However,  competition among vendors is also white-hot. 
The latest player to join the 'tea wars' is Share Tea,  a bubble-tea franchise brand owned by the United International Business Corp of Taiwan, which opened its first Hong Kong shop next to Kowloon City Plaza last Friday. 
The company says it plans to  open three more shops later this month - in Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan and Hung Hom - and expects to have between 30 and 40 outlets this year.
'If we can make it, we will probably become the biggest bubble-tea brand in Hong Kong,' said Angus Lai, the general manager of the company, which runs 150 Share Tea counters through franchisees in Taiwan.
However, the task may not be  easy because of  competition from the existing bubble-tea retailers as well as many more seeking to enter this potentially profitable business.
Bubble tea made its first appearance in the city last summer and thanks to a  variety of flavours and relatively cheap prices, usually ranging from HK$10 to HK$20, the drinks have quickly become a  favourite.
According to Lai, the newly opened shop in Kowloon City recorded daily turnover of between HK$12,000 and HK$15,000 during a trial run last week, selling  between 900 and 1,000 cups every day. 
'Based on our experience, daily sales can rise to between 1,500 and 2,000 cups in the summer,' said Lai. 
Driven by high demand and considerable profit margins, the bubble-tea business has since flourished, with Mong Kok, Causeway Bay and Tsuen Wan being the favourite  locations.
In Mong Kok, several bubble-tea stalls operate  on the same street, sometimes in adjoining shops.
Despite the claims of 'unique flavours' and 'outstanding quality' on big banners, their menus look similar, with several fixed categories that include bubble tea, milk tea, fruit juice and pure tea. 
In Causeway Bay's Cannon Street, there are six Taiwanese-style bubble-tea shops on the 100-metre strip. One is Gong Cha,  a leading franchise brand from Taiwan. 
Shop manager Elisa Mak Yee-man,  who previously operated  three shoe shops in Mong Kok, sold two of her shoe shops last summer and raised more than HK$1 million to open a beverage counter in Causeway Bay. 
'I take it as an investment, though it's a high-risk one,' said Mak, who noted there were only three bubble tea shops in the vicinity when she opened for business.
'But I think my real rivals are the other two Gong Cha outlets, in Wan Chai and Aberdeen. It is unavoidable that they will divert part of the loyal customers of our brand.' 
Just a stone's throw away from her outlet, a snack stall also launched self-made bubble tea, selling for only HK$6 per cup. However, the price did not seem to impress customers, who were prepared to queue  at the other franchise chains  during the busy business hours in the afternoon. 
'It will cost you seven or eight bucks to buy a coke in a convenience store. Yet with just a little bit more money, you can get a freshly made, clean and healthy drink. That's why people love it,' said Mak. 
But Mak said she did not plan a long  stay  in this business. 
'People may get tired of bubble tea one day, just as they did with Japanese cheese cake and Macau egg tarts in the past. I think I will sell  my shop before the craze wanes,' she said. 
Another bubble-tea franchisee, Franco Lee, was one of the early starters, joining the beverage chain East Sunrise in June last year. The Taiwanese franchise now has 10 outlets in the city.  
Previously a marketing professional in a multinational retailing company, Lee believes  a small business such as bubble tea will have a big market in Hong Kong. 
'In the past, bubble tea was mostly sold in small family-run restaurants or food stalls,' he said. 
'Now it's different. Many smart businessmen or those with marketing expertise are engaged in this industry. You know, people make the business.'
But Lee noted that competition was tough, and even unhealthy in some places. 
'I think quite a number of brands are likely to be washed out of the market over the coming one or two years. Only quality ones will survive,' he said.



A bubble in the making? Taiwan tea all the rage