There is a copious amount bubble tea shops popping up in Klang Valley everyday, so much so SS15 in Subang Jaya has now been transformed into Bubble Tea Alley with a high number of these shops concentrated in this single street. Take a stroll and you will first notice the traffic riddling the tiny lane and plastic cups with large straws strewn across the walkways.
Malaysian youths of all walks of life have come to enjoy bubble tea, a drink that was imported from Taiwan that uses components like tapioca, milk, tea and sugar which has become a global phenomena with sales surging to US$2 billion this year and is expected to triple that by 2023. The news is good for Chatime, TeaLive, The Koi and others who have made a name for themselves as bubble tea pioneers in the country, but recently there has been a call by the Ministry of Health on the potential dangers of consuming bubble tea excessively. The high sugar content of at times up to 20 teaspoon per cup, (average daily intake is 8 teaspoon) can cause serious repercussions in the long run for those who gulp down these drinks on a daily basis. While we laud the Ministry in raising the matter more needs to be done to warn the consumers on the contents of the drinks with clear labeling, the idea of asking people to get themselves informed by researching is not as effective. Instead MOH should make it mandatory for all food packaging have clear bold labels on content and calorie!
The Trade Ministy should also look into the promotional gimmicks practiced by large chain bubble tea outlets, these drinks are priced between RM8 to RM15, but with collaborations with eWallets, the users are able to purchase these sugary drinks for a fraction, some even at RM3. Rise in consumption and ewallets offering amazing discounts for the drinks surely can’t be coincidence. A quick method to acquire user base for the app and the main target being youths, lead ewallet brands to bubble tea franchises. Certain ewallets have even gone to the extent of engaging on long term basis with exclusive deals, and the repeat purchases gives rewards to users and increases transaction value for ewallets. The trend is not only with the cashless system, ecommerce platforms have also jumped on the bandwagon with discounts and deals for bubble tea on the rise but the majority of those queuing up at the counters are scanning their QR codes for the discounts.
Ewallet providers will need to me cognisant on deals they offer on their platform, as how we have not seen gambling services or alcohol promotions on their apps we hope they will practice more responsibility and limit the number of bubble tea one can redeem on their phones. Just a thought!
