LOS ANGELES, USA – For National Boba Day (also referred to as National Bubble Tea Day) on April 30, consumers across the U.S. will celebrate the fun and delicious beverage which has steadily grown in popularity since its inception in the 1980s. The traditional boba drink combines tea, milk and boba pearls derived from cassava root turned into tapioca starch.
While introduced to the U.S. in the 1990s, the adoration of the beverage grew in the mid-2000s with the explosive growth of social media. National Boba (Bubble Tea) Day was founded in 2018 by an international chain of boba shops looking to promote this tasty, versatile drink.
According to a March 2022 survey¹ of consumer shopping habits related to boba, nearly 74% of respondents were familiar or extremely familiar with the beverage. Of that group, nearly 91% drink boba at least monthly and nearly 63% drink boba once a week or more. Additionally, the global boba market was valued at $1.89 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $3.49 billion by the end of 2026 according to Fortune Business Insights².
“It’s not surprising to see the growth in popularity of boba as younger demographics, who are looking for new and innovative culinary experiences, have embraced this yummy and delightful drink,” said Jasmine Pak, a boba expert and BuzzFeed Tasty Creator. “In December 2020, Google searches for boba surpassed Google searches for cupcake, further highlighting this category segment’s impressive growth.”
Boba shops have become an alternative to coffee shops for a social gathering, meeting spot or place to grab a treat. Today, there are a wide range of flavors with boba pearls being added to beverages from milk and coffee to smoothies and cocktails. According to Yelp as reported by Medium, so far this year, page views for “bubble tea” or “boba” businesses in the food and restaurant categories in the U.S. are up fivefold since 2012, and share of reviews mentioning boba is about double what it was eight years ago.
Not only have boba shops popped up all over the country, but now with the introduction of Boba Bam, boba lovers can make their favorite, flavorful and fun boba drinks, with all the taste and texture of boba shops, from the convenience of home. The Boba Bam packet goes from freezer to microwave to cup in about a minute. Consumers can add the sweet and chewy boba pearls to any beverage including traditional milk, plant-based milks, coffee or tea.
“Just as Starbucks expanded the market by introducing coffee shop-quality products for home use, Boba Bam has done the same for the boba industry,” said Brian Khoddam, CEO of BEK Foods. “Our instant boba kit lets you make delicious boba from the convenience of home, anytime and any way you want. By making boba more readily available, we are helping to grow the category’s popularity, increase the frequency of use and introduce the drink to new audiences.”
Because Boba Bam is gluten-free, vegan, nut free and all-natural, it can be customized to meet a range of dietary needs. It can also be used as a topping for food or integrated into more sophisticated recipes like protein shakes, cocktails and breakfast parfaits. Boba Bam is available at Costco, Sam’s Club, select ALDI locations and other retailers.
¹ Survey of 500 consumers ages 18-44 through Amazon Mechanical Turk conducted in March 2022. Contact BEK Foods for study details.
² Fortune Business Insights. Contact BEK Foods for study details.
