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Local brands take space in boba land
Bodacious boba: An employee of an In Tea outlet in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta, serves a palm sugar boba caramel drink on Oct
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odacious boba: An employee of an In Tea outlet in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta, serves a palm sugar boba caramel drink on Oct. 10. The tapioca pearl milk tea, popularly known as bubble tea, or boba, is currently a popular drink in Indonesia, particularly Jakarta.(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
Taiwanese tapioca pearl milk tea, popularly known as bubble tea or boba, is popular again in big Indonesian cities, inspiring Indonesians to come up with local brands.
The reign of international brands is apparently a tough one to crack for these local brands.
People in Jakarta are willing to line up for a long time to get a cup of boba tea from popular international brands, such as Xing Fu Tang, Tiger Sugar and OneZo.
The trend came and went, only to return again bringing with it local brands such as In Tea, Kokumi and Goola.
“It is returning after the appearance of brown sugar boba. Since then, I have seen many people creating new brands or new drinks in existing brands,” food blogger Hans Danial said.
Felicia Sugita, a student, is one of the boba lovers who is willing to spend 1.5 hours in a queue for the drink.
She told The Jakarta Post that she had tried almost every brand available and now limited herself to "only" buying boba once a week.
Lifestyle blogger and editor Annisa Steviani said the bubble tea craze had arrived in her office, sharing that she and her colleagues purchased bubble tea almost every day and even ordered it from an outlet located 9 kilometers away.
Despite their love of boba, Felicia and Annisa said they were unaware of any local boba brands.
“We have never considered if they are local or [international] brands,” said Annisa, adding that she had just found out that Kokumi, one of the most popular boba drinks, was a local brand when speaking to the Post.
Felicia said she tried the brands based on their popularity on Instagram.
When asked about her favorite boba brand, she mentioned In Tea, not knowing that it is actually another homegrown brand.
Heince Kurniawan and his wife Shelley, the co-owners of In Tea, said it was a challenge for them to be recognized.
When starting the business, it took them around six months to finally get a space in one of the shopping malls in Jakarta.
“We were new and there were no other brands creating this type of drink. [The shopping malls] were not sure about this market,” said Shelley.
“Actually, when we first launched this palm sugar boba [in June last year], there were no other brands in Indonesia [offering it]. We didn’t expect it to become [a trend],” said Shelley.
Heince said the current boba trend with many international brands coming in had helped the business.
“In South Jakarta, up to 80 percent of our sales come from boba [drinks],” said Heince, adding that they actually offered cheese tea and fruit teas as well, which are currently less popular than boba.
He explained that the international brands had made boba lovers willing to try other varieties.
Amid the competition in the boba market, Goola, a traditional beverage brand cofounded by Gibran Rakabuming, the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, went against the market by offering local drinks with a twist.
Goola cofounder Kevin Susanto said they wanted to create a local champion.
“There are international brands or local brands inspired by an [outside] trend doing well in the market. There are no Indonesian brands selling Indonesian beverages,” he said, adding that he did not want foreigners to enter Jakarta’s malls only to find drinks from Taiwan or Thailand.
Despite all the boba hullabaloo and unawareness of local brands, Hans considered that local brands were actually ready to compete with international brands, sharing that his favorite bubble tea was actually a local one.
“Fun fact, international bubble tea brands actually use local brown sugar, however I can’t reveal their name,” he added.
Regarding awareness, Hans recommended that local brands create really tasty products that could go viral or collaborate with influencers.
“On top of that, quality needs to be the main concern,” said Hans.
Heince and Kevin shared a similar opinion.
Heince said Gandaria City shopping mall offered them a space because they liked the taste of In Tea.
“We feel confident with the taste of our [drinks] and our customers. If a mall offered us a place next to [popular brands], I would take it, so more people will try In Tea,” said Heince, adding that from a business point of view, a slice of cake is still available.
“If the product is not good enough, it won't sell [anyway]," added Kevin.
