Background of Evan Leong:
Evan Leong, owner with wife Kari of Bubble Tea Supply, discovered the drink while living and working in California, sometimes drinking two or three a day. "At $3 a crack it got more expensive than eating meals," Leong says.
But attempts to make their own proved difficult, he says. "Everyone was so secretive about it."So the couple researched the market and found a manufacturer in Taiwan to make the tapioca and flavorings for them. They moved back home to Hawaii to open their business.
Leong says they were the first to venture onto the Internet with a Web site, www.bubbleteasupply.com, that offered products and recipes.
The site receives 10,000 hits a month, he says, and receives orders from across the mainland. The company sells tapioca pearls and flavorings in bulk, largely to tea shops, but also to true enthusiasts.
Bubble tea party kits, for example, include 2 pounds of pearls, assorted flavorings, teas and straws for $35 to $56.40. Just the pearls start at $6.95 for 2.2 pounds, enough for 20 to 30 drinks, depending on how pearly you like them.
With the new kits, Bubble Tea Supply goes retail, and Leong says they should be showing up in stores soon. They'll sell for about $6, with enough in each kit to make six drinks. At this week's fair they'll sell at a discount for $5.
The kits make bubble drinking more convenient, but they aren't an instant fix. The pearls arrive as hard little black balls. To make them chewy, you boil them in water for 25 minutes, then let them steep for another 25 minutes. Rinse, drain and sweeten, then add to your drink of choice.Tea shops typically serve the pearls with creamy tea-based drinks flavored with fruit -- honeydew and strawberry being popular. They're also served with creamy iced coffees.
But attempts to make their own proved difficult, he says. "Everyone was so secretive about it."So the couple researched the market and found a manufacturer in Taiwan to make the tapioca and flavorings for them. They moved back home to Hawaii to open their business.
Leong says they were the first to venture onto the Internet with a Web site, www.bubbleteasupply.com, that offered products and recipes.
The site receives 10,000 hits a month, he says, and receives orders from across the mainland. The company sells tapioca pearls and flavorings in bulk, largely to tea shops, but also to true enthusiasts.
Bubble tea party kits, for example, include 2 pounds of pearls, assorted flavorings, teas and straws for $35 to $56.40. Just the pearls start at $6.95 for 2.2 pounds, enough for 20 to 30 drinks, depending on how pearly you like them.
With the new kits, Bubble Tea Supply goes retail, and Leong says they should be showing up in stores soon. They'll sell for about $6, with enough in each kit to make six drinks. At this week's fair they'll sell at a discount for $5.
The kits make bubble drinking more convenient, but they aren't an instant fix. The pearls arrive as hard little black balls. To make them chewy, you boil them in water for 25 minutes, then let them steep for another 25 minutes. Rinse, drain and sweeten, then add to your drink of choice.Tea shops typically serve the pearls with creamy tea-based drinks flavored with fruit -- honeydew and strawberry being popular. They're also served with creamy iced coffees.
Overall, the conversation was very helpful, and this person in my network will serve as a compliant resource (since our products really wouldn’t be competing) and, although a longshot, could stand a consolidation partner down the road if my business is successful.
Tung Bui, Matson Distinguished Professor of Global Business at the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Expert in my market
Marketing
Today, the company now advertises and sells locally, nationally and internationally through its Web site, www.bubbleteasupply.com, as well as through traditional advertising, marketing and partnerships with the television program, Local Kine Grinds.
The company has established a customer base of more than 3,000. There are about 100 vendors in Hawaii that order the flavored powders, tapioca balls and business kits every month.
In the beginning, the owner spent $300 per month on marketing. Now $3,000 a month is spent advertising on television, radio, print and the Internet.
The company’s main market is the U.S. Evan says he and his wife don’t focus on the international market because international laws make exporting difficult. The Leongs attribute their success to being the first bubble tea supply company to go online with resources. The Web site accounts for about 50 percent of its sales.
Dr. Tung Bui: The Matson Distinguished Professor of Global Business at the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa says customer service is important, especially if a small business uses the Internet to reach customers. Photo: University of Hawaii. He says the Web site is an ideal way for a small business to establish itself in the market, even though industry-wise, e-commerce only generates between 4 percent and 10 percent of sales.
“I think for a small business, the Internet, especially nowadays, is a very cost-effective way of reaching out to your customers,” Bui says. Customer service is still very important, however. “The most important thing is customer relationships,” Bui says. “Technology is one thing, but you don’t want people to be disappointed when customers go to the Web site and it’s not working. But I think the bottom line is how you truly satisfy your customers.
“The new trend nowadays is what they call real-time e-marketing. Everything has got to be done at that instant. If somebody wants to buy a recipe for tea, they want it right now and to pay for it right now. They don’t want to wait five minutes after or they might go to somebody else – real-time economy.”
Alex Barnett- manager of Bubble Tea Supplier: supplier
Background of Alex Barnett
Alex has been a store manager at the Bubble tea Supplier store for 15 years. I caught him around 12:30pm though, and he was on his way out for a lunch break and was happy to answer my questions, but seemed in a rush. I pitched him my idea and we had the conversation below, but after our conversation, he had to run. I didn’t get a chance to delve into his background and understand why he has worked for this business in particular for many years, but I gleaned useful information for Bubble Tea Supplier that will make him a valuable contact for me down the road in my entrepreneurial endeavor.
Bubble Tea Supply provides businesses and homes with supplies to add Bubble Tea to their menu, start a Bubble Tea Café or just enjoy Bubble Tea at home.
Alex told me that the company carry flavor powders to make taro bubble tea, honeydew bubble tea, milk tea bubble tea, mango bubble tea, and the like. They also have bubble tea syrups to make passion fruit bubble tea, lychee bubble tea and much more. Bubble Tea equipment and recipes are also available.
It is their mission to help Bubble Tea lovers succeed by sharing with people in their community an alternative to Espresso and Latte's. Whether people are making bubble tea at home, adding to a menu or starting a business, Bubble Tea Supply gives people access to all the right tools one need to get started.
I realized Mr. Barnett would be a great contact to keep in touch with because he was receptive to my idea and repeated that he saw a need for great taste bubble tea which is why Bubble tea Supplier in general has tried to achieve as well.
Reflection:
In the past, my networking experiences have been mainly forced interactions though academic interactions. This experience differed because as I was not networking to land a job or internship, I was just speaking to high ranking individuals about how feasible an entrepreneurial feat was. I felt more relaxed in this situation because there was nothing at stake for me to lose here. I will remember that as I network in the future when the subject matter has a direct effect on me. I learned to be more confident and relaxed when there was no disadvantage to ask for feedback and not really know what I was doing, so I think I learned many valuable lessons in this exercise.
Tung Bui, Matson Distinguished Professor of Global Business at the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Expert in my market
Marketing
Today, the company now advertises and sells locally, nationally and internationally through its Web site, www.bubbleteasupply.com, as well as through traditional advertising, marketing and partnerships with the television program, Local Kine Grinds.
The company has established a customer base of more than 3,000. There are about 100 vendors in Hawaii that order the flavored powders, tapioca balls and business kits every month.
In the beginning, the owner spent $300 per month on marketing. Now $3,000 a month is spent advertising on television, radio, print and the Internet.
The company’s main market is the U.S. Evan says he and his wife don’t focus on the international market because international laws make exporting difficult. The Leongs attribute their success to being the first bubble tea supply company to go online with resources. The Web site accounts for about 50 percent of its sales.
Dr. Tung Bui: The Matson Distinguished Professor of Global Business at the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa says customer service is important, especially if a small business uses the Internet to reach customers. Photo: University of Hawaii. He says the Web site is an ideal way for a small business to establish itself in the market, even though industry-wise, e-commerce only generates between 4 percent and 10 percent of sales.
“I think for a small business, the Internet, especially nowadays, is a very cost-effective way of reaching out to your customers,” Bui says. Customer service is still very important, however. “The most important thing is customer relationships,” Bui says. “Technology is one thing, but you don’t want people to be disappointed when customers go to the Web site and it’s not working. But I think the bottom line is how you truly satisfy your customers.
“The new trend nowadays is what they call real-time e-marketing. Everything has got to be done at that instant. If somebody wants to buy a recipe for tea, they want it right now and to pay for it right now. They don’t want to wait five minutes after or they might go to somebody else – real-time economy.”
Background of Alex Barnett
Alex has been a store manager at the Bubble tea Supplier store for 15 years. I caught him around 12:30pm though, and he was on his way out for a lunch break and was happy to answer my questions, but seemed in a rush. I pitched him my idea and we had the conversation below, but after our conversation, he had to run. I didn’t get a chance to delve into his background and understand why he has worked for this business in particular for many years, but I gleaned useful information for Bubble Tea Supplier that will make him a valuable contact for me down the road in my entrepreneurial endeavor.
Bubble Tea Supply provides businesses and homes with supplies to add Bubble Tea to their menu, start a Bubble Tea Café or just enjoy Bubble Tea at home.
Alex told me that the company carry flavor powders to make taro bubble tea, honeydew bubble tea, milk tea bubble tea, mango bubble tea, and the like. They also have bubble tea syrups to make passion fruit bubble tea, lychee bubble tea and much more. Bubble Tea equipment and recipes are also available.
It is their mission to help Bubble Tea lovers succeed by sharing with people in their community an alternative to Espresso and Latte's. Whether people are making bubble tea at home, adding to a menu or starting a business, Bubble Tea Supply gives people access to all the right tools one need to get started.
I realized Mr. Barnett would be a great contact to keep in touch with because he was receptive to my idea and repeated that he saw a need for great taste bubble tea which is why Bubble tea Supplier in general has tried to achieve as well.
Reflection:
In the past, my networking experiences have been mainly forced interactions though academic interactions. This experience differed because as I was not networking to land a job or internship, I was just speaking to high ranking individuals about how feasible an entrepreneurial feat was. I felt more relaxed in this situation because there was nothing at stake for me to lose here. I will remember that as I network in the future when the subject matter has a direct effect on me. I learned to be more confident and relaxed when there was no disadvantage to ask for feedback and not really know what I was doing, so I think I learned many valuable lessons in this exercise.
I think your definitely had some quality worthy interviews because you have so much information! However, I'm unsure what your idea is, so it's kind of hard for me to give adequate feedback. I agree with your reflection that I myself have only networked when it was forced but this was different because we had to go out and really do it on our own. Good job.
ReplyDeleteHi Wan Ting, I think your post was definitely well thought out and you earned really insightful information. I think next time you talk to these sources you should ask them about your venture and get their opinion on what is working well or not with your idea. Here is mine http://entbyjts.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-your-social-capital.html
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