Yoshinoya and Botrista Double Down on Boba Tea With New Flavors, Sizes & Ingredients

TORRANCE, Calif., March 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yoshinoya®, known for its made-to-order Japanese-inspired rice bowls, is enhancing its menu by expanding and reinvigorating its Boba Tea menu offerings. In partnership with Botrista, a pioneer in the world of beverage-making, Yoshinoya began testing Boba Tea in select restaurants in late 2022. The customer response was overwhelmingly positive and Yoshinoya continued to roll out the new beverage options to all locations by mid-2023*. Now the brand is doubling down on Boba with the introduction of new flavors, sizes, and more. And to celebrate, the brand will be giving away 1 million Boba Teas for FREE during the month of April.

“At Yoshinoya, our number one goal is to provide affordable, freshly prepared, delicious Japanese-inspired cuisine to our customers and Boba brings another layer to our menu with flavorful, on-trend beverages,” said Jon Gilliam, CEO of Yoshinoya. “By partnering with Botrista, we are able to provide customers with exceptional Boba Teas that tap into the latest technology to make sure each drink is perfect every time.”

To provide customers with mouth-watering Boba flavors and an overall elevated experience, Yoshinoya has equipped all restaurants with Botrista's proprietary beverage station, BotristaPro. Yoshinoya's staff can effortlessly prepare consistent and freshly crafted Boba Teas with the push of a button. The two brands collaborated on all aspects of the Boba offerings from menu development to ingredient selection, to deliver a consistently remarkable beverage experience to customers.

“Since our initial launch, we have seen a huge demand for Boba from our guests, and we are thrilled to announce our new flavor and give everyone the chance to try it with our Million Boba Tea giveaway,” said Gilliam.

New Flavors, Sizes and More
As part of Yoshinoya’s Boba menu expansion, starting the first week in April, customers can indulge in a new flavor of Boba Tea, Mango Lemonade. Yoshinoya and Botrista harnessed Michelin-star chef, Rex Huang, in the development of the new flavor of Boba Tea.

• Mango Lemonade Boba: Sunny, ripe mangos burst through this tropical indulgence of zingy lemonade.
  

Boba Tea became synonymous with Japanese culture in the late 80s/early 90s and to continue to offer U.S. customers new, delicious authentic Japanese menu items, Yoshinoya added Boba to its menu. In mid-2023 Yoshinoya began testing four varieties of teas in its restaurants, including:

• Yoshi’s Tea: Japanese-inspired tea that features fresh brewed tea, non-dairy creamer, brown sugar and soft and chewy tapioca pearls
• Strawberry Lychee Green Tea: Unique combination of floral aromatic Jasmine Green Tea, with the sweetness of Lychee, Strawberries, sugar and soft & chewy tapioca pearls
• Thai Tea: Indulgently brewed mildly spiced sweet tea made from Thai style Tea, non-dairy creamer, sugar and soft & chewy tapioca pearls
• Matcha Green Tea: Light and refreshing Japanese-inspired matcha Green tea blended with non-dairy creamer with chewy boba (tapioca pearls) mixed in

“At Yoshinoya, we are serving up a variety of flavorful Asian-inspired Boba Teas made with ingredients sourced from around the world,” said Rex Huang, head of R&D and drink development at Botrista. “Staying true to Yoshinoya's mission of serving delicious options fast and at an affordable price, our incredible sourcing and simple automation are a perfect match.”

In addition to the new flavor, Yoshinoya has reformulated its current lineup of Boba Tea with a new creamer, new sizes, new prices and more. Based on customer feedback, Yoshinoya is introducing a new cup size allowing customers to choose between the new 16 oz ($3.39) and current 24 oz ($4.29) size to enjoy their Boba beverage. Customers will also notice that their Boba drinks are even creamier and have significantly more Boba pearls in each cup providing more flavor and fun.

“At a time when consumers are looking for ways to manage their budgets without sacrificing taste, Yoshinoya is giving consumers delicious new Boba Teas at an extraordinary value,” said Anne Paluck, acting CMO of Yoshinoya. “We are so sure that both new and loyal customers will love our new Boba that we are giving away a million Boba Teas in our mobile app during April - with no strings attached or purchase required.”

Million Boba Giveaway
To help celebrate the new Boba Tea offerings at Yoshinoya, the brand is launching the Million Boba Tea giveaway. Yoshinoya wants to give every customer the opportunity to enjoy a delicious and refreshing Boba Tea in the new 16 oz size for FREE**. From April 1-30, customers can simply use the Yoshinoya Rewards app on iOS or Android to redeem the free Boba coupon in-store or for a mobile pick-up order, not valid for delivery. No purchase is necessary and one per customer during the month of April.

For images of the Yoshinoya Boba Teas click HERE and for more information and to find a Yoshinoya near you, please visit www.yoshinoyaamerica.com and follow us on social media at Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook.

* Boba is available in all Yoshinoya locations except for two franchisee-owned locations.
**24 oz Boba not included. No Substitutions. App offer applies only on REGULAR SIZE (16 oz.) BOBA when you download the Yoshinoya Rewards APP. Free regular size Boba offer is valid until 4/30/24. Promo will apply at checkout. Additional charges may apply. Discount excludes any applicable taxes and/or fees. Limit one (1) offer per guest. Promotional offer is valid in-store, online or in-app excluding delivery. Not valid on third party delivery sites. Cannot be combined with any other offer, promotion, or discount. Void where prohibited. Valid at participating locations.

About Yoshinoya America
Yoshinoya was founded by Mr. Eikichi Matsuda in 1899 in a small shop in Nihonbashi Fish Market in his hometown, Yoshino-Cho, Osaka. Over the years, Yoshinoya has rapidly expanded around the world including Japan, USA, Hong Kong, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore. Yoshinoya opened its first restaurant in the United States in 1973 and now has more than 100 domestic locations located across California with plans to expand into Arizona and beyond. Yoshinoya is focused on creating affordable, freshly prepared, delicious authentic Japanese cuisine featuring mouth-watering flavors and quality ingredients inspired by its Japanese heritage. For more information and to find a Yoshinoya near you, please visit www.yoshinoyaamerica.com and follow us on social media at Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook.

About Botrista
Botrista provides automated beverage solutions to food service operators. Operators can increase ticket size and beverage attachment by serving non-alcoholic craft beverages to younger generation consumers. The trendy innovative craft beverages include boba teas, smoothies, iced coffee, flavored lemonades, energy drinks, and more. Importantly, data shows these new options drive overall drink sales higher without cannibalizing existing soda sales. Botrista enables operators to add a new beverage category to their menu without the operational complexities. Botrista’s platform allows operators to subscribe to world-class quality from the leading ingredient manufacturers that they partner with. The vision is to make any staff member a professional barista or bartender with the easy-to-use Botrista system.

Contact Information:
Kelly Kaufman
K Squared Group
[email protected]