Designing An International Marketing Plan For Bubbleology: A Leading Bubble Tea Brand

About Bubbleology and its current market presence

The purpose of this report is to design an international marketing plan for a UK SME. The company chosen for developing a marketing plan is Bubbleology. It was established in 2011 with its headquarters in London. Bubbleology operates in the beverage industry. Currently, it operates in more than 70 locations throughout Middle East and Europe, in addition to chief locations in the UK (Pitchbook 2022). Bubbleology is a leading bubble tea brand and emphasis on authentic bubble tea which consists of tapioca balls and bubble waffles. Further they serve bubble tea with brewing their bases with black tea and organic jasmine and offers range of milk alternatives. They also serve a light version of their drinks (Bubbleology 2022).

Figure 1: Bubbleology Product

Business objectives are the outcomes that are aimed to accomplish to achieve company’s vision. It has been set to successfully develop and enhance brand image and awareness of Bubbleology. Penetrating into a global market includes threats as well as opportunities (Pegan,  Vianelli and Luca 2020) . Therefore, the business objectives of Bubbleology have be to the resources of the company that is estimated to achieve in a year: The objectives are:

• Gross Sales Revenue of at least £155,000
• Gross Sales of 30,000 units of bubble tea and 25,000 units of bubble waffle
• Margin of 40 per cent
• Profit of around £ 62,000

The table (seen in Appendix I) displays a worldwide edge-based ranking system. The following ratings were used by the company: D, C, B, A4, A3, A2, and A1 (Highest to lowest). South Korea received the lowest ranking for its business climate. As a result, the country’s business environment is extremely beneficial. Financial data from corporations is widely available and trustworthy (Globaledge 2022). Debt collection is a time-consuming process. The institutional quality is exceptional. In A1 setups, intercompany transactions are straightforward. Furthermore, South Korea has the lowest nation risk rating, indicating that changes in a generally favourable but slightly unpredictable political and economic climate may have an influence on corporate payment behaviour. Even in the most secure corporate environment, problems may arise from time to time. On average, the likelihood of a corporate default is extremely low (Globaledge 2022).

South Korea, at $7.60 billion USD, has the smallest industrial size, according to the study (Statista 2022). The scale of an industry can predict the viability of a new venture. Because the industry is tiny, the firm will require less money. Small-scale industries can give a big number of work possibilities. They have an overworked personality. They need more manpower than other parts of the manufacturing process. They can be developed quickly and give employment to a bigger number of individuals (Camacho and Fernandez, 2018). Bubbleology, for example, would communicate with its clients more directly, allowing them to better satisfy their needs, provide a more personalised service, and maybe develop a relationship with its consumers.

It is not possible for Bubbleology to meet the need of each customer in the market, as different customers have varied taste and preferences. As a result, market segmentation acts as a method of segmenting the market into moderately identifiable and similar groups on the basis of shared preferences (Pegan, Vianelli and Luca 2020). The target audience is preferably to young individuals that might regard bubble drinks as luxury and novelty substitute to the “after work coffee” or tea time.

Business objectives and goals of Bubbleology

Further, bubble tea is considered to be healthier as compared carbonated fizzy drinks, in spite of the fact that it contains sugar and as a result could entice health conscious customers. It would be popular for individuals to hold meetings including book groups or craft circles in coffee shops and local cafes (Aisya and Maligan 2021).

Table 1: Customer profiles

(Source: Author)

Generally, varied market segments with common taste and demand would respond to varied kind of marketing approaches, therefore it is very crucial to ensure to use the appropriate promotional for the target segments. Consumers would be targeted on the basis of psychographic, demographic or income; this would enable Bubbleology to alter their pricing of different items as per the taste, habits and income levels of customers (Bafort, Van Den Broecke and Voegeli 2020). Further, it is feasible to create promotional strategies that could target more than one segment and the products of Bubbleology were actually satisfy the preference and taste of families, teenagers, and young adult as well as tourists.

Most bubble tea providers in Korea have found to be adjusting pricing level against most of it rivals, but these is little focus on dining experience of these bubble tea providers. In addition, there are not many bubble tea brands that emphasis on enhancing brand’s accessibility to the society (Wei 2016). In this case, Bubbleology would distinguish its status from competing bubble tea brands with unique and fun interior and an improved dining experience. The vision of Bubbleology is to develop its business while sustaining the worth of bubble tea has also grown the accessibility of value to the society. The capability of Bubbleology has developed a diverse position of Bubbleology in the bubble tea market in Korea.

Sales: £155,000 in first year 

Sales Volume: 30,000 units of bubble tea at £ 2.50 to £ 4.00

25,000 units of bubble waffle at £ 0.50 to £ 1.50

Profit: Profit of around £ 62,000

Brand Awareness: Improve brand awareness through promotion tools and in develop 40% unprompted recall rate within the end of 1^st year

Trails: Offer first drink free to all customers during the week of the launch.

Referrals: Within the first year end, have 25 per cent of customers to be referred by existing customers

Entering a market of foreign country, on the other hand, may be difficult as Bubbleology adjusts to a new culture, regulatory environment, and competitors (Morgan, Feng and Whitler 2018). For approaching a foreign market, Bubbleology offers numerous choices. The choices are as follows:

Joint venture: Bubbleology might use a joint venture as their international market entry approach for a multitude of reasons, such as utilizing each other’s strengths, risk-sharing with other parties, and so on (Schwens et al. 2018). Bubbleology may be able to enter a new market through a joint venture that it would not have been able to enter individually under the correct conditions. Local government is, in general, the most major impediment in this circumstance. A government might decide to prohibit 100% foreign ownership for a variety of reasons, including a danger to the industry’s long-term viability, environmental damage, a challenge to local players, and so on (Wulff 2016).

Market segmentation and target audience

Acquisition: A strategic purchase occurs when a company buys a controlling stake in an existing company in a foreign market. In this case, Bubbleology may be indirectly or directly involved in the provision of equivalent commodities on the global market (Shen, Puig and Paul 2017). Furthermore, Bubbleology could maintain the newly acquired company’s existing management to profit from their experience, knowledge, and abilities, while also having the members serve on the board of directors.

Licensing and Franchising: Bubbleology’s licensing and franchising strategy absorbs risk on the firm’s behalf in order to establish a low-risk retail presence in a foreign market. An international based firm will give Bubbleology a fee to utilize their trademarks, commodities, production process, brand name, and other intellectual assets under a licensing agreement or franchise (Shen, Puig and Paul 2017)..

Greenfield Venture: Greenfield Venture is a market entrance strategy that involves establishing a new fully owned subsidiary in a foreign nation and building its facilities from the ground up. Bubbleology can enter a new market thanks to Greenfield Venture without the assistance of another organization that is already present there. Although the process of establishing a Greenfield Venture might be more expensive and complicated, it gives Bubbleology the most control (Schwens et al. 2018).

Design and technology: Bubble tea does not rely on cutting-edge technology; rather, it is a basic beverage to which the company add little tapioca or other fruity bubbles. The sole part of the method that would necessitate the use of technical equipment is the formation of such little bubbles. The design of our bubble tea is made up of two parts. The first is concerned with the container or vessel, whereas the second is concerned with the actual bubbles (Hillarion and Naim 2020). Bubbleology offers bubble tea in range of flavours and are distinguished from the “standard bubble tea” with soy substitutes as well. This beverage is eaten in the same way as other hot and cold beverages such as smoothies, tea, various sodas, coffee, and so on. Customers can feel a variety of affects depending on the sort of tea they drink, and some of them are white tea, black tea, and green tea (Bubbleology 2022).

Further their product – bubble waffles are packed with variety of combination toppings and flavours. Bubbleology provides varied waffle combinations such as matcha, chocolate or vanilla with premium gelato flavour alternatives (Bubbleology 2022). The bubble waffles are then topped with toppings or fresh fruits, and balanced with sauces.

Quality: The bulk of the quality of bubble tea is determined by the components, which include tapioca bubbles and tea. Many recently founded establishments employ too sweet and sugary components for their bubbles because a sweet flavour attracts more customers, despite the fact that high-quality tapioca is not overly sweet (Pitkänen 2020).

For the bubble tea and bubble waffle, Bubbleology will choose market skimming approach. Bubbleology is a well known brand in London for its bubble tea market with its excellent quality tapioca used in bubble tea that is produced only using natural ingredients and less additives and preservatives (Cateora et al. 2020). For this bubble tea the consumers would pay £ 2.50 to £ 4.00 per unit and around £ 0.50 to £ 1.50 for bubble waffle. Customers evaluate the quality, prices, and ability to meet their demands of Bubbleology to those of other pearl milk tea vendors. Bubbleology will not set unacceptably high prices in order to maintain the product accessible to the middle-income market. Bubbleology also used an odd-even pricing approach to decide the Bubbleology’s price (Pitkänen 2020).

Promotional strategies for Bubbleology

Physical Shop: Through the direct channel, the items will be sold directly to clients at the shop. The vast bulk of the work will be completed within the distribution route, with no middlemen. The café will be in the middle of Korea, which is becoming increasingly congested (Bussara 2019). There will be more competition, but there will also be more people searching for a place to sit and have a drink in the centre.

Internet:  The website must represent the company’s philosophy of living a simple and healthy life. It will include a page about our history and how we got started, another on what bubble tea is, a third about our goods, and a final page for announcements, both events (events, concerts, meetings, and so on.) and special deals. (Do and Nguyen 2020)

Advertising: A research was also conducted on the many more people have in Korea, or what types of activities they wish to perform that we might incorporate into our company plan, and the wonderful outcome was that such town has a lot of concerts (Ariffin,  Ihsannuddin and Mohsin 2021). People enjoy going out and listening to music, so holding some afternoon concerts on Sunday afternoons or Saturday evenings, when most people are not studying or working, might be an excellent marketing approach to attract more customers.

Special offers: the Bubbleology will hold special offers, such as:

• If a customer purchase one bubble tea or bubble waffles during the first week of each season, they will receive a flat 50 per cent off second bubble tea or bubble waffle.
• Customers will have a complimentary “special customized drink” on their birthday.
• The first 50 customers (who present their fidelity card) will enjoy up to 50 per cent discount on their beverage.

User testing: On the one hand, Bubbleology would provide a unique setting for customers to sample various bubble tea tastes and get advice from one of their bubble tea experts. Employees, on the other hand, will throw out a free testing mini-cup of some popular items or new innovations on the street, encouraging consumers to try it and, if they enjoy it, to buy a genuine bubble cup or tea (Iswara, and Rahadi 2019).

Two way and one way communication channels will be employed to reach out to customers. Because digital advertising is the most common type of advertising in South Korea, emphasizing social media sites such as Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook will help the business get popularity in a short period of time (Tien, Phu and Chi 2019). In addition, the corporation will spend money on advertising in the most popular publications among the target populations. Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Forbes, Runners’ World, and Vegan will all include adverbs. Furthermore, a South Korean advertising firm will assist the group in determining the optimum locations for outdoor display posters. Adverts will also be broadcasted in TV channels and Billboards. An online marketing campaign will also be held in order to create brand awareness (Cateora, Meyer, Gilly and Graham 2020).

Conclusion

In the above report, an international marketing plan of Bubbleology has been developed for the entrance in South Korea. Bubbleology is a leading bubble tea brand and emphasis on authentic bubble tea which consists of tapioca balls and bubble waffles. It operates in more than 70 locations throughout Middle East and Europe, in addition to chief locations in the UK. Further selecting a country, market audience for the company has been developed. The target audience is preferably to young individuals that might regard bubble drinks as luxury and novelty substitute to the “after work coffee” or tea time. Following that, sales and marketing objectives has been established and mode of entry for the company has been identified. Following that, marketing mix of Bubbleology has been created. Lastly, the promotion budget has been created for accomplishing the business and marketing objectives. 

References

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Ariffin, S.K., Ihsannuddin, N.Q. and Mohsin, A.M.A., 2021. The influence of attitude functions on Muslim consumer attitude towards social media advertising: a case of bubble tea. Journal of Islamic Marketing.

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