Bubble tea, or boba tea—a conventional Taiwanese drink full of tapioca pearls—is exploding in reputation in America. We spoke with Kung Fu Tea‘s advertising supervisor Matthew Poveromo about how the franchise model, which is ranked No. 57 on Entrepreneur’s 2023 Quickest-Rising Franchises listing, is harnessing that pattern to speed up progress.

How did Kung Fu Tea get began?

Our 4 founders are from Taiwan, they usually noticed a chance to deliver genuine Taiwanese bubble tea taste to America. They opened April 30,^, 2010 and took a couple of 12 months for proof of idea, opening 13 shops and simply working by means of the menu and actually constructing out the infrastructure that allowed them to develop fairly quickly once they opened up for franchising in 2011.

So what precisely is bubble tea?

Bubble tea, or boba tea, comes from Taiwan, and it is a conventional drink with both tea and milk or tea and fruit. Its most identifiable attribute is these tapioca pearls on the backside of the drink, and you’ve got a bigger straw so you may chew on these whilst you drink, and it is tremendous scrumptious. It was created within the ’80s in Taiwan and it came to visit to America within the ’90’s, primarily in city areas with extra range. However as demographics shift in America, you are now seeing it being embraced an increasing number of in rural communities as nicely.

Why do you suppose bubble tea is rising in popularity in America?

It was historically very massive in cities and nonetheless is, however as individuals are leaving these cities, they’re bringing this tradition with them and sharing it with mates. It is a very communal, social drink. And in addition, when you find yourself considering of getting a deal with with a pal, bubble tea is a really robust different to conventional desserts. With bubble tea, you may management the sugar stage and the components that you simply’re placing into it. It may be a really guilt free indulgence, so it is type of driving the well being pattern.

With that rising reputation, there are an increasing number of manufacturers providing bubble tea now. How does Kung Fu Tea stand out from the gang?

Among the different manufacturers have a a lot bigger international footprint, however perhaps not essentially in North America. Kung Fu Tea is targeted on being “America’s Bubble Tea,” so the whole lot we do, from menu design and taste profiles to manufacturers we accomplice with, has this purpose in thoughts. We’re centered on offering an genuine Asian and Asian-American expertise, whereas on the similar time serving to the drink turn into extra mainstream in American tradition.

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I additionally suppose it is our fearless model. It is a part of our identification that we’re just a little extra daring and in your face, which I believe lots of people can relate to. And also you see that in our social following. We’re actually centered on constructing a neighborhood on our social platforms. Associated to that neighborhood constructing, we based Nationwide Bubble Tea Day on our eighth anniversary, April 30^th, 2018, and it is enjoyable to see different manufacturers within the house now celebrating it with us.

What does Kung Fu Tea search for in its franchisees?

Once we onboard franchisees in our company workplace in New York, we all the time ask them, ‘Why Kung Fu Tea?’ and the largest factor is simply their expertise with the drink. They’re very passionate concerning the trade, the product, and particularly our model and the standard we put behind our contemporary tea. We’re not completely in search of individuals with franchise historical past or enterprise historical past. What we are in search of is adaptability. The trade is all the time altering, so having retailer homeowners who perceive that it is a fast-moving trade and are there to develop with us is precedence primary.

What are your targets for 2023?

The quantity [of open stores] we’re circling on our whiteboards is 410. And for systemwide gross sales, we’re aiming for $240 million. So these are two formidable numbers to hit, and we’re very excited.

What methods do you might have for hitting these numbers?

One of many greatest is we’ve some partnerships lined up for 2023 which I am very enthusiastic about. In 2022 we partnered with Nintendo to advertise their latest Kirby recreation. We developed a customized cup and a customized taste known as Kirby’s Fruity Flurry that was out there for a restricted time. It obtained our prospects tremendous excited. Folks made fan artwork and comics based mostly on it, and that is how it is a profitable program—when individuals do not identical to what you created, however it evokes them to create as nicely. So these are the kinds of partnerships we’re seeking to proceed in 2023, with iconic manufacturers and family names.

We’re additionally enthusiastic about our app, which was important for us these previous few years, because it was launched proper earlier than Covid. Now we’re overhauling our reward system and dealing on simply having a prime tier app and streamlining the ordering course of. Ordering bubble tea can doubtlessly be intimidating as a result of you might have the flexibility to manage the ice stage, sugar stage, toppings, and flavors. So having an app that breaks that down in a easy approach is essential.

Lastly, we even have two different ideas, TKK Fried Hen and Yasubee Ramen. We’re actually enthusiastic about providing twin idea shops to increase our portfolio providing not only for franchisees however for our prospects as nicely.