{"id":1819640,"date":"2026-09-17T17:11:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T15:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/articles\/how-to-open-a-bubble-tea-shop-in-the-uk-currentyear\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T16:35:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T14:35:42","slug":"how-to-open-a-bubble-tea-shop-in-the-uk-currentyear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/articles\/how-to-open-a-bubble-tea-shop-in-the-uk-currentyear\/","title":{"rendered":"How to open a bubble tea shop in the UK 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The VAT rate on a cold bubble tea sold to take away has never been settled. It is a beverage, and beverages are standard-rated, unless the drink counts as tea, in which case it is zero-rated. The Association of Taxation Technicians asked HMRC for guidance in August 2024. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opening a bubble tea shop needs no licence. There is no register, no inspection to pass before trading and no permission to apply for beyond planning. What there is instead is a tax question worth 20 points of margin on the main sales channel, a packaging regime that differs in all four nations, and a franchise market where the published numbers contradict each other. Food law, tax and company registration are UK-wide. Business rates and planning are England only, and the sections below say so where it matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a bubble tea business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A bubble tea business sells tea-based drinks made to order with chewy tapioca pearls or similar toppings, usually from a small unit or kiosk, and in the UK it is a food business that must register with its local authority but needs no trading licence. The drink is built from brewed tea, milk or fruit, sugar syrup and toppings, sealed in a cup with a film lid and drunk through a wide straw. It was developed in Taiwan in the 1980s and arrived in the UK comparatively recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercially the format is small footprint, high transaction count and young customers. Operationally it is closer to a coffee shop than a restaurant: limited cooking, heavy equipment dependence and a supply chain that runs largely on imported powders, syrups and pearls. The premises and fit-out decisions run close to those in how to open a coffee shop in the UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to open a bubble tea shop in the UK, step by step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The absence of a licensing regime moves the work forward rather than removing it. Nothing stops the doors opening, so the decisions that matter, on VAT treatment, packaging and supply, all have to be right before the first cup is priced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a bubble tea shop needs in place before it trades:<\/p>\n\n\n\n