Grab launches Singapore's first bubble tea subscription plan today: Is it worth it?

I love bubble tea, and I'm sure many Singaporeans, as well as the 1.5 million members from Facebook group #subtleasiantraits share the same passion as well.

So you can imagine my excitement when Grab sent 4 large bubble teas to the ShopBack Office today.

To commemorate the launch, Grab sent us 4 assorted bubble tea flavours: GongCha's Caramel Milk Tea (50 per cent Sugar), iTea's Aloe Vera Honey Lemon with Ai Yu, LiHO's Da Hong Pao Milk Tea with Brown Sugar Pearls, and Woobbee's Pi Pa Gao Milk Tea (which went to our product designer Yi Xuan, as remedy for her sore throat)

As Singapore's first bubble tea subscription plan, Grab hopes to help bubble-tea crazy Singaporean quench their thirst for bubble tea, all while saving a bit of money.

HOW DOES THE 'SUBSCRIPTION PLAN' WORK?

The term 'subscription plan' may be a little misleading on Grab's end.

[[nid:461505]]

Contrary to popular beliefs, bubble tea will not magically appear at your doorstep on a weekly, or monthly basis.

Rather, you get to purchase vouchers at a discounted rate to enjoy savings for your bubble tea, the next time you purchase it.

Currently, there are only 4 bubble tea merchants participating in this subscription, namely: Gong Cha, LiHO, Woobbee, and iTea. So if you are a hardcore fan to any of the four brands, this may be something worth considering.

The introductory pricing to the #GrabBubbleTeaClub will be as follows:

• New GrabPay users pay $5 for a bundle of 5 x $3 vouchers (save $10)
• For new Grabpay users, this gets you ~4-5 cups of bubble tea for just $5!
• Existing GrabPay users pay $9 for a bundle of 5 x $3 vouchers (save $6)

For existing Grabpay users, this means that you will get ~4-5 cups of bubble tea for $9, meaning each cup of bubble tea will cost you $1.80-$2.25.

Subsequently, you will be charged $12 for $15 worth of vouchers in the subsequent month.

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ON GETTING THE SUBSCRIPTION

IS IT WORTH IT?

At its promotional price, the bubble tea subscription saves you a substantial $6-$10. However, getting the vouchers subsequently will essentially only save you $3 for your next 4-5 cups of bubble tea.

[[nid:462546]]

Additionally, for those who don't drink bubble tea as often, having the vouchers might encourage you to spend more than you usually do for bubble tea.

I'd say that these vouchers are great for those who frequent Gongcha, LiHO, iTEA or Woobbee often, and would regularly spend on bubble tea anyway.

For me personally, I would definitely consider it if my favourite bubble tea merchants HOLLIN, KOI, and Chi Cha San Qian are on board.

This article was first published in Seedly.