#Thirsty4Change: Bubble tea goes sustainable

• Main Author: Singapore Management University
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2020
• Subjects: business operations; bubble tea; beverage; Singapore; Business Administration, Management, and Operations; Food and Beverage Management
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lien_research/195; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lien_research/article/1201/viewcontent/Thirsty4Change.pdf

The global bubble tea market was valued at US$1.96 billion in 2016 and is projected to reach US$3.21 billion by 2023. However, the bubble tea craze comes as a heavy price to the environment. Since plastic cups and straws—used to contain and consume the drinks—are non-biodegradable, most of these end up in oceans and cause severe harm to animals that mistake the plastic for food. Used bubble tea cups also cannot be placed into “Plastics”-designated recycling bins as they contain too much liquid and leftover “pearls”, usually made of tapioca. To date, there have been efforts to address bubble-tea-related waste, but there appears to be a lack of compelling examples on the market that offer sustainable solutions to the wasteful manufacture and packaging of bubble tea drinks.