American Bubble Tea Industry In Crisis As Country Faces Boba Balls Shortage

Bubble tea lovers in the United States are finding it hard these days to get their boba fix. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, logistics for bubble tea pearls supplies are affected with many boba shops not having enough supply to last until the summer. As reported by NPR, the scarcity of boba pearls in the country has been brewing for months now due to logistical issues whereby there are too many shipments from Asia to North America but not enough processing capacity to actually get them into the United States.

Oliver Yoon, the vice president of sales and global marketing for Boba Direct, a supplier of bubble tea ingredients explained that there has been a huge influx of containers coming from overseas into the United States due to booming e-commerce activities as many were staying at home due to the pandemic. However, there’s not enough manpower to assist in getting these containers out of its respective vessels.

Unfortunately, this delay in shipment processing has caused many bubble tea shops operators in the United States. Mostly small businesses, many boba shop owners have been anxious about meeting the demand of customers when there’s scarcity in supply.

Furthermore, the scarcity of supply came at a crucial time for these businesses as many are trying to recover from lost businesses due to the pandemic. After a drop in Covid-19 cases as well as vaccine rollouts, many Americans are no longer confined to their homes, hence there is an increased demand for food outlets such as bubble tea stores.

Well, let’s hope that the logistic issue will be solved and that these small businesses survive through the pandemic.

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