So you’ve decided to cash on the Boba tea market, i.e., one of the fastest growing food and beverage industry markets in the US. While this is the right time to enter the popular yet unsaturated business, you must pay special attention to your target audience and location if you want your Boba tea store to succeed.
Like coffee and traditional tea, Boba tea is also prepared in more ways than one. The recipe of Boba tea is highly customizable, allowing Boba tea stores to create a menu that can attract their target audience. You can save yourself from this hassle if you decide to open a Boba tea franchise. Your Boba tea franchise will have the same menu as provided by the Boba tea company. However, if you don’t want a Boba tea franchise and instead plan on opening a unique store, we have a short but detailed guide for creating an attractive Boba tea menu. Let’s check it out:
Define Your Audience
If you have been considering entering the Boba tea market, you must have already noticed the wide variety of Boba tea available in stores. From hot beverages to iced teas and from slushies to smoothies, it seems that Boba pearls have found their way in every drink, with endless flavors. While, on the one hand, the wide variety of Boba tea types and flavors confirms the popularity of Boba tea, it can make it challenging for entrepreneurs to decide the ones they want to offer in their Boba tea store.
But the solution is simpler than you can imagine: the first step of creating a Boba tea menu is to define your audience.
Defining the audience is vital as it narrows down the Boba tea options you can offer in your store. For example, if you want to create a Boba tea menu for Asians, you may want to offer strong traditional flavors such as macha, jasmine, oolong, pistachio, etc. On the other hand, if the target audience for your Boba tea store is Caucasians, you will benefit by adding sweet and non-traditional tea flavors such as mango, strawberry, coconut, chocolate, etc. A Caucasian audience will also prefer milkier options with milk, cheese foam, or whipped cream.
Besides Caucasian or Asian, you can also target other audience segments. But no matter which segment you target, your menu will be based on their flavor preferences.
Set Win-Win Prices
The flavors and toppings you offer will invite your customers to check your Boba tea store, but it isn’t enough to convert them into customers. As a newly opened Boba tea store, you can set introductory prices to make it easier for customers to try your place. The average cost of Boba tea in the US is $5.84. You can offer $4.99 or even $4.25 for the first two weeks of your store opening.
Once it’s time to raise the pricing to regular rates, stick to the .25 or .99 method. This method isn’t new, and businesses have been utilizing it for decades. As a customer with an entrepreneurial mind, chances are you might be aware of it already. It works because it makes customers feel they are getting a better deal.
You can create an even more attractive Boba tea menu by setting a base price for the drink type and offering certain flavors for free and others for a small added cost. Charging for toppings separately also works for most boba tea stores. However, no matter how you set pricing, ensure it is clear and easy to understand.
Design a Layout That Upsells
After deciding on the drinks and flavors and their prices, it will be time for you to present them in a way that earns you the maximum average per customer. Here’s how to go about designing the layout:
1. Place the most expensive items in or near the middle
The middle of the page is where the customers’ eyes fall immediately. You can accomplish two things by letting them first see the most expensive item. First, you can tempt them to order the most expensive items, and second, you will make the overall impression of a reasonably priced menu. As the customers will take the time to study the prices, they will find that the rest of the items are all cheaper and easily convert into customers.
2. Juxtapose menu items that pair well
If you are offering snacks in addition to Boba teas, make sure you place them with the teas that pair well. For example, bubble waffles are a popular snack pairing with Boba iced coffee. Similarly, add beverage pricing options according to sizes, toppings, etc., right below or above the flavor list. You don’t want to confuse customers by placing flavors in the front and pricing in the back. Customers must be able to clearly see what their order will cost them.
3. Use fun colors and clear fonts
Colors and fonts can make or break your Boba tea menu. Utilize your brand logo colors in the menu to make your branding cohesive. While you can play around as much as you want regarding colors, it is best to stick to readable fonts that anyone can read. If you are not a professional designer, it would be beneficial for your Boba tea store to hire one. A professional designer can help you create a brand identity that can make success more achievable for your business.
Finally, don’t hesitate to add personality to your Boba tea menu layout. If you want your Boba tea store to stand out among the competitors, you need to design a unique-looking menu. A few ways to help you achieve it include creating a story involving customers, adding a caffeine scale to teas, creating illustrations, or adding pictures of the teas. You can also set a specific theme for your store or introduce new themes according to the changing seasons. No matter how you approach it, remember that providing a memorable experience to the audience begins with creating a menu that is easy to read and remember.