The Boba Shop Supply Checklist: What to Stock Before You Open

Boba shops move through disposables faster than nearly any concept we supply. A single busy Saturday can eat a week of cups if your par level was set from a slow Tuesday. Here's the list we walk new Arizona owners through.

Drinkware first

• Clear PET cold cups — 16, 20 and 24 oz cover most milk tea and fruit tea menus.
• Lids — sip-through for sealed-look service, straw-slot for wide straws.
• Wide boba straws, individually wrapped if you're doing high takeout volume.
• Drink carriers for two- and four-drink orders.

Then the tea program

Tea leaves, tapioca pearls and matcha are recipe decisions, not commodity buys — the same drink tastes different across two suppliers. Lock your recipe first, then buy consistently. Ask us what we can source for your specific base.

Front of house and sanitation

• Napkins, towels and to-go bags.
• Sanitizer, gloves and floor cleaner in case quantities.
• Can liners sized to your bins, not the closest guess.

Set par at 1.5x your busiest week

For cups, lids and straws specifically, use your busiest week — not your average — as the baseline. Those three items are the ones that stop service entirely when they run out. Everything else can run leaner because we deliver free next day across the Valley and stage same-day pick-ups on request.

Keep reading

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• Choosing To-Go Containers: A Straightforward Guide for Restaurants
• The Janitorial Supply Checklist Every Restaurant Should Run Monthly