Global bubble tea market grows steadily in 2026 as Gulf demand accelerates

Key facts

The global bubble tea market kept expanding through the first half of 2026, extending a run of growth that has turned a Taiwanese street drink into a fixture of high streets from Ho Chi Minh City to Amman. Kerry, a global taste and nutrition ingredients supplier, put the market at USD 2.63 billion in 2024 and projected it would reach USD 4.78 billion by 2032, a compound annual growth rate of 7.81 percent, in an industry analysis published in August 2025. Other research firms model faster growth still, with cited compound annual growth rates ranging from roughly 8 percent to nearly 13 percent depending on methodology and forecast window, a spread that reflects how young and fast-moving the category remains.

Asia Pacific stays the largest region, accounting for just over 43 percent of the global market and led by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to Kerry's analysis. North America ranks second. The Middle East and Africa region shows what that same report called slower but accelerating growth, as international chains establish a first footprint in Gulf and Levant markets.

What it means for Riyadh

That Middle East acceleration has a concrete recent marker. CoCo Bubble Tea, one of the category's larger international chains, opened its first Middle East store in Amman, Jordan in September 2025, built around a halal-certified, streamlined menu designed for the region, and the company has said it plans further openings in the United Arab Emirates and North Africa. It echoes a pattern already visible in Riyadh, where global and regional tea brands have opened multiple locations over the past two years to meet demand from a young, socially connected population.

Flavor localization is part of that playbook. Kerry's analysis notes brands adapting core recipes to regional tastes, citing rose and saffron variations in Middle Eastern markets alongside avocado and osmanthus in Singapore and ube in the Philippines. For Riyadh drinkers, that mirrors a pattern already underway locally: familiar bases like black and oolong tea, paired with fruit flavors, then adjusted for what sells in a given neighborhood.

Background

Bubble tea's global spread traces back to Taichung, Taiwan in the 1980s, when tea shops began adding chewy tapioca pearls to shaken milk tea. Four decades later, the format has split into dozens of sub-categories. One of the fastest-growing right now is popping boba, juice-filled pearls that burst on the bite rather than the traditional chewy tapioca ball. A March 2026 industry report citing Future Market Insights research described popping boba as one of the fastest-growing segments within the wider category, popular with younger drinkers who want a lighter, more portable option than a full milk tea.

Social media is doing much of the work of introducing the drink to new markets. The same report credited TikTok with driving a large share, cited at 74 percent, of consumer familiarity with bubble tea, turning what used to be a regional specialty into a format people recognize on sight wherever they live. Packaged formats are growing too. Kerry's analysis pointed to bubble tea flavored ice cream, cakes, and instant mixes moving off the counter and onto retail shelves, a sign the category is no longer confined to tea shops alone.

Underlying all of this is a demand pattern that shows up in nearly every market bubble tea enters: drinkers want customization of tea base, sweetness, and toppings, and a growing share want lower-sugar or dairy-free versions without giving up the format's signature textures.

Takeaway

The global bubble tea category is still expanding in 2026, and the Middle East, long a small piece of that picture, is now one of the regions where international brands are actively opening their first stores. For Riyadh, that global momentum lines up with a local scene that has grown steadily over the past two years, with familiar tea bases, fruit flavors, and format experiments arriving at roughly the same pace they do everywhere else the category is growing.