Bubble Tea at University

Two girls sitting drinking boba tea thinking about how to open a bubble tea shop

There are few groups of people in the UK that are as avid about bubble tea as students.

Bubble tea has exploded in popularity over the last 10 years; the popularity of the Taiwanese drink growing rapidly across the world since its creation in the 1980s. And all over the world this has been most prominently amongst young people. Boba tea at university is a staple all over the world and over the last few years shops have been popping up all over the UK university cities.

Bubble Tea at University

Shops on Campus

Bespoke bubble tea shops have been opening on campuses across the country in universities including Leeds, Leicester, Loughborough, Sheffield, and Southampton. They offer a range of milk and fruit teas with standard tapioca, popping, and fruit jelly bubble options. Many of these shops even offer delivery through mainstream platforms such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

Bubble Tea University Societies

The love for the beverage doesn’t just stop there. Many leading universities have seen the formation of bubble tea societies by students, including Warwick, UCL, and Bristol. This offers a place for like-minded students to meet, work, and enjoy boba tea at university. These are active groups that organise social events like bubble tea crawls, workshops, and trips to shops in nearby cities. All of these students are helping to spread the popularity of the bubbly beverage!

What Does This Mean For The Market?

Bubble tea is now firmly entrenched in the UK and bubble tea at university is likewise here to stay. With an ever-growing number of students at UK universities and huge numbers of both national and international students moving to university cities every year there will never be a lack of customers!

If you are a bubble tea shop owner then knowing the student population is an absolute must. Read up on the bubble tea societies at your local universities and make sure you offer delivery to the student areas. If you can, try to capture new students during their fresher and induction weeks when they are still learning the city – your boba shop will quickly become the go-to meeting place!