Food Rebranding Agency

Difficulties with boba in general:

Putting the bubbles in a can or a bottle (suitable machinery)

Pasteurisation (the bubbles shouldn’t burst but it has to be sufficient to make them last longer)

Make them last in a drink (avoid bursting and the bubbles to dissolve, specific ingredients, regular tapioca is not suitable for this purpose)

Milk drinks – UHT is necessary (no popping boba)

Size (to be able to pour the boba out of the can, the balls need to be significantly smaller than in fresh boba bought in a shop, this can decrease the enjoyment factor)

Sugar levels (the fresh boba tea contains high amounts of sugar, when it comes to creating an RTD and showing all the nutritional information, keeping it low sugar – at least lower than 4.5g/100ml – is important)

There can be a lot of unhealthy ingredients in most boba balls that are sold on the market, this adds an extra layer of difficulty when creating a drink that is healthier than most versions

Extra difficulties for small businesses to develop a boba drink:

Most companies that accept small projects don’t do UHT. Many small filling companies are not proficient enough to cope with a complicated project like boba (there can be many technical issues)

High minimum order quantities (investing a lot of money in buying ingredients for a project that still needs testing and technical problems may come up is very risky). It’s hard to find suitable ingredients nearby as most of them are coming from Asia – this can increase the transportation costs as well as the lead times

It’s difficult to create a drink featuring several different colours and flavour profiles, as the balls will flavour the liquid and the liquid will flavour the balls when it sits on a shelf even for a few months. The same thing with colour, the color of the liquid will have an effect on the balls and the color of the balls will have an effect on the liquid. Sadly, this means no extra vibrant and colourful drinks, or drinks featuring balls with many different flavours, like it is in a boba shop.

Considering these factors, there are a lot of limitations to having boba in a can compared to making boba fresh. The first issue is that it is VERY difficult to make tapioca last in a drink. Tapioca is a starch and being kept in a liquid, it can naturally dissolve, burst, or fall apart. To solve this issue, most companies use konjac or other types of gels, which often lack the rich taste of tapioca balls.

Brand Relations combines industry knowledge with a unique network, Product Development, Marketing & Digital Expertise – all under one roof.

Our Work

Mezete

We initially met Brand Relations at the awards night in Dubai, they saw our Hummus and fell in love with the concept. Knowing the International Market they felt a more European approach to the branding would improve sales, the results were amazing and now we export our brand all over the World, it has been an amazing journey and we are so glad that we had Brand Relations on board to help us.

Wild Leaf

Inspired by flavours of Africa, Wild Leaf is a range of premium craft mixers containing nothing artificial and with no sweeteners. Infused with Wormwood and Quassia botanicals to provide a unique flavour profile, Wild Leaf brings a twist of North Africa to any alcoholic beverage without the compromise on flavour or health.

Eternitea

Brand Relations was approached by the client to develop a drink that could be successful in the UK market. With no brief just the funding to develop the brand, after several months of research we decided that the biggest opportunity was in Collagen Drinks, Zero Sugar and based on Moringa Tea.

Afria

Afria is a refreshing blend of fruits and Bitters inspired by the Nigerian Chapman cocktail. The Chapman is a renowned celebratory drink which originated from Lagos, Nigeria in the 1930’s. Chapman is certainly a drink for the sweet palette, but we understand the importance of healthy options for both alcohol and non-alcohol drinkers. We have adapted this traditional drink into a healthier alternative by combining natural fruit juices, stevia and bitters to achieve a balanced level of sweetness. A-Free-Ah any preservatives or nasties, this refreshing natural mix with Spring Water is a perfect alternative for alcohol any occasion and will transport your taste buds to West Africa where the original Chapman was founded. Afria is Chapman at its best!

Skny Cocktails

London Cocktails

Lively Hive

Hibiz

Glotone

Eauglo

Dragons

Aelixir

Prioritea