Bubble tea chain Boba Bhai is stepping up its expansion push, with plans to add 150–200 outlets this financial year as it looks to deepen its presence across metros and tap into rising demand in smaller cities.
“We are almost close to 100 outlets now. In this financial year, we’ll be adding another 150 to 200 outlets,” said Dhruv Kohli, founder, Boba Bhai.
The company, which currently operates in eight cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, plans to expand to 10 cities this year and consolidate its footprint, before entering a wider set of markets. “We’ll stick to these 10 cities for the next 12 months, take the number to 300-odd outlets in these cities, and then expand to tier-II, tier-III,” Kohli said.
The aggressive scale-up follows a recent funding round, with the company focusing on deploying capital towards store expansion. “The goal here is that how do we deploy the capital… and get an additional 150–200 stores in this financial year,” he added.
Over the longer term, the brand is targeting significant scale. “The vision is that in the next five years, can we get 1,000 outlets and probably look at international expansion post that,” Kohli said.
A key part of Boba Bhai’s strategy is its focus on unit-level profitability, at a time when several quick service restaurant (QSR) chains are grappling with margin pressures amid slowing discretionary consumption. “Every single store that we run is profitable… we are at 20% profitable at every single store level,” Kohli said, adding that the company is close to breaking even at the overall level. “At a company level as well, we are very close to profitability, probably by next quarter or so.”
The company has chosen to operate entirely through a company-owned, company-operated model, avoiding franchising for now. “Everything is company-owned, company-operated… we are not there yet to do franchising,” he said. This, coupled with tight control over costs, has helped maintain margins, with payback periods of 12–14 months per store.
Boba Bhai is also betting on shifting consumption patterns, particularly among younger consumers, to drive growth. “Gen Z is the future of India… if you are building now, you have to build for the future,” Kohli said. He pointed to changing preferences within this cohort, adding, “Gen Z is moving away from alcohol so they need something to drink — this is where functional beverages come in.”
The company is seeing rising traction beyond metros, with smaller cities emerging as a key growth driver. “Tier-II people tend to experiment more… we see higher average order values because people tend to spend more time,” Kohli said, adding that the company aims to build a presence across the top 70 cities. “We want to own the top 70 cities of India… that’s where we think the real business lies.”
Average order values currently range between ₹350 and ₹400 and are trending upward as the brand expands its food offerings. “The average order value is about ₹350–400… and it is increasing month-on-month,” he said, noting that stores are increasingly becoming social hangout spaces rather than just delivery-driven formats.
Even as input costs remain volatile, the company is opting to absorb near-term pressures to retain customers. “We have decided to absorb that cost and not pass it on to customers… we want loyal customers,” Kohli said.
With a tech-led back-end and a focus on profitability, Boba Bhai is positioning itself to scale rapidly in India’s evolving QSR landscape.