The Taiwanese drink went viral in Hong Kong and took over local streets and Instagram feeds with its visuals and flavors – how was this frenzy started?

Last summer, a particular street in Causeway Bay was flocked by legendary long queues in the steamy weather. Meanwhile, eye-catching “tiger stripes” cups spammed social media every day, as netizens debated if it’s worth the wait.  Originated from Taiwan, bubble tea has become one of the most popular drinks among Hong Kongers. Improved and innovative flavors are introduced to attract customers to make repurchases. During the past summer, the beverage has made a great leap in terms of its visuals and flavor with the introduction of tapioca bubbles cooked with brown sugar syrup in fresh milk. The chic appearance and refreshing taste resulted in the long queues as well as numerous “check-ins” on social media.

A recent research showed that tea drinks consumption in Hong Kong has increased from 38.7 million cups to 45 million cups in 2016. It is projected that the number will be close to 50 million in 2021, which illustrates the prevalence and popularity of tea drinks locally. (B&S International Holdings Limited, 2018)

Looking at this latest trend, this article will not be a food critique, but an analysis on the bubble milk tea market in Hong Kong using the 5Ps marketing approach — Product, Price, Promotion, Place and People.

Product

Although various brands are selling brown sugar bubble milk, each brand has its own unique feature that satisfies different desires of customers and thus stands out and survives among the competitive market of Taiwanese beverages.

Tiger Sugar (老虎堂) has strong, artistic visuals with their iconic “tiger stripes”, which is the effect of adding brown sugar syrup on the sides of the cup. The emphasis on appearance satisfies customers’ desires to post aesthetic pictures on Instagram. A notice board is even placed at the store’s counter, reminding customers that taking a picture of the drink should be the first step upon receiving the product.

On the other hand, Happy Holidays’ (幸福週末) flagship product is brown sugar bubble milk made with unique ingredients — sea salt and instant fried bubbles, which creates better taste and lighter texture.

Apart from the Brown Sugar line, Happy Holidays and YiFang Taiwan Fruit Tea (一芳) has other fresh tea product lines, including flavoured teas, fruit teas, and traditional tea. According to a report by Allied Market Research, the fruit flavor bubble tea segment is estimated to grow more rapidly, due to its high consumer preference, diversity in flavor, and high nutritional value. (Doshi & Sharma, 2018).

Price

The Brown Sugar Bubble Milk normally sells at around $30, adopting premium pricing which is 50% more expensive than normal bubble tea. The higher price implies a higher perceived quality, and some brands have emphasized their imported or handmade ingredients to justify the price. Hence customers are willing to pay a higher price and accept longer waiting time. Not only are they queuing up to get a taste of the premium ingredients, getting their hands on the city’s hot topic also satisfy their other desires, particularly to boost their self-image by showing their trendsetter roles on social media.

Sales promotions are seldom provided by market leaders. But less famous shops often use discount promotions during new shop launch or holidays to attract media coverage and thus new customers. For example, Mo Tea Pro (墨茶道) had “buy one get one 50% off” promotions during the new year holiday period.

Promotion

A huge part of brown sugar bubble tea’s success should be credit to social media.  On one hand, brands have made good use of social media to engage with current customers and captivate potential buyers. These brands have collaborated with online publishers such as Jetso and ULifestyle HK, to publicize extensive new store and product news which attract high audience engagement including likes, comments and shares. Moreover, a lot of KOLs helped post pictures and reviews of these drinks on their social media which also stir up the trend and motivate more consumers to the product.

Apart from online promotions, some brands create in-store gimmick to attract customers. For example, Kau Cim (求籤) was available in Xing Fu Tang(幸福堂) because “xing fu” means happiness and fortune in Chinese. This shopping experience links with the brand identity and helps lower perceived waiting time by letting the customers draw fortune sticks while waiting for their drinks.

However, while more new brands are joining the market in Hong Kong, less coverage could be seen on social media, and less and shorter queues could be observed. Therefore, to sustain the brown sugar bubble milk market, more creative promotional methods and platforms might need to be used.

Place

Most franchisees would establish its first branch specializing in brown sugar bubble milk in crowded locations such as Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. These locations attract a lot of people and hence the high traffic because of its booming location with large variety of shops and malls. It also increases product visibility when branches are located inside or near large shopping malls, e.g. Hysan Place, as it could be more easily found and discovered. By opening multiple branches in several hot locations, it increases the accessibility of the beverage since people are able to purchase somewhere nearer to their homes or workplace.

People

The primary target customers are young people between the age of 16 to 30. Since social media is the main platform where this trend blossomed, youngsters are therefore easier to be drawn into the trends as they are huge fanatics and frequent users of social media. Moreover, with the chic and fresh visuals, a lot of people post pictures and reviews of the drinks on their own social media platforms to “check-in” and create user-generated contents.

Another target group is adults working in the central business districts, which are accessible to the shops and attracted by the vast variety of products during their lunch breaks or clock-offs. Having a sip of sweetness after meals or a full day of hard work is perhaps huge enjoyment and comfort for a big group of hard-working population in Hong Kong.

The burst of the bubble?

In just few months’ time, the brown sugar bubble milk crowd in Causeway Bay has become a thing in the past, as Tiger Sugar and Xinfutang continued their business in a completely opposite way: Tiger Sugar opened new stores around the city, making their products more reachable to their fans; However, Xinfutang closed all their business after legal disputes with their parent company in Taiwan. Despite its dropping popularity, Brown Sugar Bubble can be seen everywhere now, which hinted the frenzy can be here for another while.

The Taiwanese tea drink market has faced a lot of ups and downs in just the past decade. As lucrative as it may seem, how to thrive and survive requires thorough understanding of the market and innovative ideas to mobilize your target consumers.

Reference

Lee, B. (2018, November 13). The Coconuts taste test: We try 7 bubble tea brands to find the best brown sugar pearl milk in Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.yahoo.com/news/coconuts-taste-test-try-7-034105085.html

B&S International Holdings Limited. (2018, February 26). Share Offer of B&S International Holdings Ltd. Retrieved from http://www3.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2018/0226/ltn20180226017.pdf

HK01. (2018, June 13). 老虎堂虎紋黑糖波霸鮮奶日賣千五杯！搖15下先飲？. Retrieved from https://www.hk01.com/%E9%A3%B2%E9%A3%9F/198773/%E6%96%B0%E5%BA%97%E9%80%9F%E9%81%9E%E8%80%81%E8%99%8E%E5%A0%82%E8%99%8E%E7%B4%8B%E9%BB%91%E7%B3%96%E6%B3%A2%E9%9C%B8%E9%AE%AE%E5%A5%B6%E6%97%A5%E8%B3%A3%E5%8D%83%E4%BA%94%E6%9D%AF%E6%90%9615%E4%B8%8B%E5%85%88%E9%A3%B2

唐家儀. (2019, January 18). 【銅鑼灣台茶】幸福堂變幸福週末！黑糖海鹽珍奶新品玫瑰桂花泡泡. Retrieved from https://www.hk01.com/飲食/284282/銅鑼灣台茶-幸福堂變幸福週末-黑糖海鹽珍奶新品玫瑰桂花泡泡

Food · Travel · Instagramers (@foodsearchers) • Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/foodsearchers/

Yash Doshi & Gunjan Jeet Sharma (2018 February). Bubble Tea Market by Base Ingredient (Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, and White Tea), Flavor (Original Flavor, Coffee Flavor, Fruit Flavor, Chocolate Flavor, and Others), Component (Flavor, Creamer, Sweetener, Liquid, Tapioca Pearls, and Others) – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023. Retrieved from https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/bubble-tea-market

良辰吉時「啵爆黑糖厚鮮奶買一送一」. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://timable.com/zh-hk/event/1738788

TenTen. (2018, November 6). 台飲店良辰吉時快閃優惠 2款人氣飲品買一送一 | 港生活 – 尋找香港好去處. Retrieved from https://hk.ulifestyle.com.hk/activity/detail/112449/台飲店良辰吉時快閃優惠-2款人氣飲品買一送一

一粒費米. (2019, February 12). 【太古美食】墨茶道推新年限定優惠！黑糖珍珠鮮奶第2杯半價 | 港生活 – 尋找香港好去處. Retrieved from https://hk.ulifestyle.com.hk/activity/detail/113439/太古美食-墨茶道推新年限定優惠-黑糖珍珠鮮奶第2杯半價

飲食, 新 -. (2018, December 29). 台灣淡水人氣珍奶李圓圓到港！明火熬足2小時 現煮黑糖珍珠！ | Uncategorized. Retrieved from https://www.weekendhk.com/886408/uncategorized/李圓圓-珍珠奶茶-佐敦/

香港老虎堂 tigersugar. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/hktigersugar/

Food · Travel · Instagramers on Instagram: “好多人都拎鹿角巷嘅「黑糖鹿丸鮮奶」同港九眾多珍奶舖相比開咗好一段時間都仲係勁長人龍，最近旺角店開咗情況好似好咗少少！被譽為全港數一數二嘅黑糖珍珠奶，黑糖味幾濃，而且珍珠有咬口，的確係啲料到嘅而家更加期待嚟緊準備台北空降嘅過江龍啊！ . 鹿角巷…” (2018, July 23). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/Blk7KuNnUbD/

珍煮丹 – 香港 (@jenjudanhk) • Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/jenjudanhk/f

銅鑼灣台飲】「幸福堂」駕到！即場手炒黑糖珍珠 飲茶兼玩求籤 | 2018-08-11 | 飲食男女 | 蘋果日報. (2018, August 11). Retrieved from https://hk.lifestyle.appledaily.com/etw/magazine/article/20180811/3_58547464/-銅鑼灣台飲-幸福堂-駕到-即場手炒黑糖珍珠-飲茶兼玩求籤-

飲食, 新 -. (2018, December 10). 老虎堂尖咀觀塘屯門再開店！台中爆紅黑糖珍奶 詳細分店詳情 | 最Hot飲食情報 | 飲食. Retrieved from https://www.weekendhk.com/820851/dining/台中-老虎堂-香港店-黑糖珍奶-銅鑼灣/5/

Retailers scramble to cash in on bubble tea craze. (2018, September 10). Retrieved from https://hongkongbusiness.hk/retail/news/retailers-scramble-cash-in-bubble-tea-craze

老虎堂勁敵！ 銅鑼灣幸福堂即席手炒珍珠 – 新店直擊. (2018, August 11). Retrieved from https://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/article/老虎堂勁敵-銅鑼灣幸福堂即席手炒珍珠-a5068

Reaching over seven million views on YouTube and winning the ‘Film Grand Prix’ Epica Awards 2018, Shiseido’s three-minute online film “The Party Bus” is no doubt one of the most successful commercial campaigns in recent years (1). Other than its aesthetics, creativity and social commentary, what made this advertisement so outstanding?

The advertisement is a story about Princess Kaguya. Starting off with the sentence ‘I just can’t tell you that I love you.’ In Japanese on screen (2), Kaguya was shown sitting next to her boyfriend on a party bus. Despite their friends were enjoying themselves, Kaguya seemed bored and distracted. A tear dropped from her eye, mixing with her lipstick and a little girl appears on her face. The little girl danced on Kaguya’s face and help her to put on more beautiful makeup. When Kaguya opened her eyes, she decided to leave her boyfriend and find her true love: Samurai Zombie. She took off Samurai’s mask, showing the audience that Samurai is actually pretty lady, and kissed her. The couple danced in the empty parking lot, and the film ends with a message – Make up your own story

“The Party Bus”
“The Party Bus” is a story of a lesbian bravely fight for her true love. From the heroine, the tears of Kaguya, symbolizing her weakness and pressure from social stigma, were transformed into makeups and the pursuit of true love. For the first time, the Japanese cosmetic company has publicly voiced their attitude towards the LGBTQ community, instead of using culture and value as a means of propaganda for the brand.

Shiseido also invited more gender-neutral faces, such as Koharu Sugawara to be part of this campaign, which is different from the models with strong feminine traits. With the main message “Make Up Your Own Story”, the campaign shows that with the magic of makeup, girls can pursue their dreams fearlessly. In this advertisement, not only did Shiseido display their open-mindedness and acceptance towards LGBTQ, it also opened a profitable door to the pink money market.

Concepts of Marketing 3.0
The advertisement helped Shiseido to build up a positive brand image. Marketing 3.0 is the new marketing concept that focuses on the consumer’s mind, soul, emotions, and body (3). Kotler, Kartajaya & Setiawan (2010) stated that many industries are facing the challenge of oversupply and over-clustered market. Therefore, these enterprises have to differentiate themselves by brand marketing. More and more customers prefer to patronize brands that are willing to take social responsibility and contribute to society.

The Party Bus is an outstanding example of Marketing 3.0. At the end of the video, the campaign message “make up your own story” was shown, which encourage consumers to try its products and not to let social stigma deter their dreams. The LGBTQ community has faced prolonged discrimination, and social advocates have been fighting against this and their rights in the past decades. Despite being a well-developed nation, Japan is still quite close-minded towards the LGBTQ minority. For example, same-sex marriage is illegal and homosexuals have to undergo sterilization, as well as gender confirmation surgery. Some politicians even make homophobic comments publicly (4).

As a well-known global brand, Shiseido is brave to shout out for the LGBTQ community and take the risk of being disapproved by some audiences. Yet, they gain success from this advertisement. Trying to speak for the minority and being involved in the social issue helped establish a progressive, open-minded and inclusive brand image for Shiseido.

Pink Money
Besides, the reason for Shiseido to use LGBTQ advertisements is heavily related to economic benefits. By integrating LGBTQ elements in their commercial, Shiseido can step into the ‘pink money’ market. “Pink money market” is a newborn economy derived from the LGBTQ group, with a huge market potential and high purchasing power（5）.

According to LGBTQ Capital’s research in 2016, there are 2.8 hundred million LGBTQ population in Asia with an annual purchasing power equals to 1.1 trillion dollars. And the LGBTQ population in Hong Kong is about 470 thousand, holding an average annual purchasing power of 22 billion dollars（6) . Although the LGBTQ group is large and their purchasing power is strong, there are still very few products and services that target the community. As ‘Pink money’ is profitable but not yet fully developed and less competitive, advertising strategies adopted by Shiseido can help them gain access to the lucrative Pink money market.

Furthermore, many LGBTQ couples are categorized as DINK（7）, which stands for Dual Income and No Kids. Without the financial pressure from raising children, this group of people might have greater spending power than their peers.

Lastly, another benefit of targeting the LGBTQ group is the financial self-identification created from pink money. Statistic shows that 90% of gay people would prefer and support brands that advocate for them and will boycott brands that discriminate their community（8）. Targeting the pink money market can be depicted as a gesture of goodwill to the LGBTQ community and reveals how a brand value this customer group. According to report findings, this strategy may lead to higher brand loyalty and spending from the LGBTQ community. There is a positive development for business that values the pink money market, which is a good rationale to explain Shiseido’s bold move to appeal to a minority and oppressed group in the society.

Shiseido’s ‘The Party Bus’ has done a successful campaign. Not only did Shiseido build a friendly and inclusive brand image, it also helped Shiseido to step into the potential “Pink money market”. How will the brand maintain their newly established brand image will have great influence towards their popularity.

Reference
1. Kelly, K. (2018, November 30). Shiseido Japan’s same-sex kiss ad wins gold in Epica advertising awards. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/amp/s/soranews24.com/2018/11/30/shiseido-japans-same-sex-kiss-ad-wins-gold-in-epica-advertisin

2.Natividad, A. (2018, October 23). Japanese makeup brand Shiseido Tells a Beautiful, unexpected love story for Halloween. Retrieved from https://musebycl.io/fashion-beauty/japanese-makeup-brand-shiseido-tells-beautiful-unexpected-love-story-halloween

3.Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H., & Setiawan, I. (2010). Marketing 3.0: From products to customers to the human Spirit. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

4.Amnesty International. (n.d.). Japan: Demand equality for LGBT people. Retrieved February 27, 2019, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/japan-demand-equality-for-lgbt-people/

5.Ruth, M. (2000, August 18). Pink money’ flowing to democrats; Gay contributions now major source. The Washington Post.

6.Green, J. (2016, September 20). LGBT purchasing power near $1 trillion rivals other minorities. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-20/lgbt-purchasing-power-near-1-trillion-rivals-other-minorities

7.Van Gils, W., & Kraaykamp, G. (2008). The emergence of dual-earner couples. A longitudinal study of the Netherlands. International Sociology, 23(3), 345–366. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0268580908088894

8. 林若茹（ 2014 ）。〈LGBT中国报告二：粉红市场〉。擷取自網頁https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzA3MzU0OTQzMw==&mid=202425001&idx=2&sn=950c77a8136d79c5a33ef1b0f6e58a7b