Chapter 1

The Introduction and Its Background

Introduction

COVID-19 started to spread in the Philippines in the year 2020. Many

establishments were affected and some are closed due to the lockdown and

not having enough customers. While other establishments still runs even

though COVID-19 spreads. And those establishments are the ones that have

enough background money support so most of the establishments that are

affected are the ones that are family owned or stand alone businesses like

Milk tea Shops.

Background of the Study

We conducted this research to know what stand alone Milk tea Shops

in Cainta did or what business strategy did they use to survive the pamdemic

so that their business wouldn’t have to close while the pandemic is still

spreading in year 2020 to 2022 and how it affected their sales when the

COVID-19 spread in the year 2020 compared to the year 2019 when the

pandemic is still not spreading and to the year 2022.

Statement of the Problem

This research aims to discover the following:

1. Demographic profile of years in operation.

2. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

2.1 Sales

2.2 Business Strategies

2.3 Marketing Strategies

Chapter 2

Review of the Related Literature

Milk tea was invented by Han-chie Liu and Hsiu Hui Lin in Taiwan in

the 1980s.

The popular milk tea was discovered by adding fruits and other

toppings such as tapioca pearls to different types of teas with milk.

In the 1990s milk tea started to become popular throughout Asia, and

eventually reaching stardom in the US and Europe in the 2000s. The flexibility

of the toppings and the flavors the customer can choose, turned milk tea into

a global phenomenon the market value reach $2.4 billion in 2019 and forecast

shows the market will reach more than $4 billion by 2027.

Many in the restaurant and hospitality industries are facing great

uncertainty as a result of the pandemic.

Big restaurants are now operating with small capacity, or delivery only

to preserve their resources. Some establishments are making ready to cook

or ready to eat boxes for customers. The lack of social distancing and group

gathering restrictions have also affected hotels leaving rooms and ballrooms

empty. Some hotels such as Makati Shangri- La have temporarily closed.

According to Criscaden (2020), the covid19 crisis has not only

threatened public and workers health and safety, but also food security and

employment. Adhering to workplace safety measures, as well as guaranteeing

access to work and the preservation of labor rights is important during this

time.

Assistance should be extended in the form of health care coverage and

income support for those severely affected. Other forms of support can also

be extended to employees and employers, including cash allowances,

initiatives in food relief, employment retention and recovery support and aid of

finances in business.

According to Francis Lim, Tipple Cafes chef-partner, required two

months to get into the new takeout rhythm when quarantine restrictions are

imposed. They only have a certain number or items that can indure the

takeout process. In accordance to the new normal they need to plan human

resources, arrange transportation, and ensure that their staff were working in

covid19 free zones. Many restaurants have closed,some permanently, while

others are waiting for the finish line to arrive. On the other hand some

business owners change their business affected by COVID-19 and poor sales

just like Ms. Jovelee Maala.

Jovelee Maala’s Junkshop business is among the thousands of

MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) that were severely affected by

the COVID-19 pandemic. Just like many others, her once-thriving business in

Payatas came into a sudden decline. Right at that moment, she knew that

they had to find other ways to stay in business.

It was January of 2020 when Jovelee took the leap of faith, and

ventured into the milk tea business. While other stores were closing down,

she started opening FreeTea stores one after the other.

Jovelee knew the risks of starting up a business, much worse during a

global pandemic. No one can tell what could happen next, and her husband

unceasingly warned her about the uncertainties. And she was right.

Seeing the success of her first store, she immediately began expanding, and
opened up more FreeTea branches in other major cities like Marikina, Pasig,

Cainta and Taguig – all in the face of back-to-back lockdowns. Jovelee was

dauntless about her business attempts because she was holding on to God’s

promises.

From a single store located in a rented space in Group 13, Payatas,

Free Tea has a total of 43 branches in almost 10 cities as of writing, and its

continuous growth seems to be unstoppable. The size of her faith makes

her journey sound easy, but Jovelee admitted that it was not the smoothest

road. She can still remember opening her fifth branch on the exact same day

that the lockdown was imposed in the area. But knowing that God was with

her, she persevered even against occasional losses and setbacks, which she

believes are a normal part of having a business.

She truly felt the hand of God guiding her through her entire journey.

She shared that even though she had to close several stores due to

unprofitability, God never failed to open up new ones for her. And as more

and more store branches were opening, she was able to employ more

workers and bless other people as well.

 Chapter 3

Research Methodology

Research Methodology

This research will utilize quantitative research. As defined by

Shenmar (2023, refers to the systematic investigation in the case in which a

person doing the research collects the data from the different respondents

that are based on numerical figures, and the data obtained is then analyzed

for obtaining the results using different mathematical, statistical and

computational tools.

Research Design

This research shall be in descriptive design. In this was defined by

McCombes (2022), as useful in this research in the sense that an appropriate

choice when the research aim is to identify characteristics, frequencies,

trends, and categories.

Locale of the Study

This research will be held in stand-alone milk tea shops inside the

vicinity of Cainta, Rizal specifically the barangays of Sto. Nino, Sto. Domingo,

San Andres, and San Isidro. These mentioned barangays are located wherein

foot traffic is common and numerous.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of this research are limited to ten owners or staff of

stand-alone milk tea stalls in Cainta. To avoid confusion and waves of

unnecessary data, this has been limited to a specific number.

Statistical Treatment of Data

This research shall utilize weighted mean to compute and finalize the

results for the data that will be gathered from the respondents. Weighted

mean as defined by Clark-Carter (2010), involves multiplying each data point

in a set by a value that is determined by some characteristic of whatever

contributed to the data point.

Data Gathering Procedures

A letter of request to conduct the study was prepared by the professor

of the researchers. The researchers made a questionnaire, approved by the

professor, that will be used to ask the respondent. The survey was conducted

to the milk tea shops around Cainta, Rizal. The researchers ask permission,

without using force, to the respondent if they have the time to answer the

questions. The researchers requested the respondents to answer with

sincerity and honesty.

Research Ethics

The demographic profile information gathered by the researchers in

this academic work shall be confidential and no force was needed to ask the

respondents to answer the questionnaire.

 Chapter 4

Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data

This chapter discusses the data analysis and findings from 7

questionnaires completed by 10 Milk tea Shops around Cainta, Rizal. The

purpose of this study was to identify how COVID-19 affected Milk tea Shops

and their sales, business strategy in the area.

4- Point Likert Scale

4 3.51-4 Strongly Agree

3 2.51-3.50 Agree

2 1.51-2.50 Disagree

1 1.00-1.50 Strongly Disagree

Respondent’s Demographic Profile

The Demographic Profile of the respondents in terns of how long their

Milk tea Shop/s have been operating.

Table 1

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents According to

Years of Operation

Years of Operation Frequency Percentage

4 Years 8 80

5 Years 1 10

More than 6 Years 1 10

Total 10 100
Table 1 represents the frequency and distribution of respondents when

grouped according to their Years of Operation of the total respondents. 80%

of the respondents are 4 years, while other 10% are 5 years and the other

10% are more than 6 years.

Table 2

Assessment of the Respondents on the Sales

Weighted Mean Verbal Interpretations

The sales before 1.90 Disagree

COVID-19 are the same
as during the pandemic.
The sales affect the 2.90 Agree
ingredients used in
making your products.
Sales during the 1.90 Disagree
pandemic has
increased.
The sales after the 2.60 Agree
easing of restrictions
increased.
Grand Weighted Mean 2.33 Disagree

Table 2 shows the assessment of the respondents on the Sales in terms, if

sales before COVID-19 are the same as during the pandemic, if the sales

affected the ingredients used in making the product, if the sales during the

pandemic has increased, and if the easing of restrictions increased their

sales.

The GWM of the Evaluation is 2.33 with a verbal interpretation of Disagree.

Respondents of knowledge that their sales were greatly reduced because of

the pandemic.
 Table 3

Assessment of the Respondents on the Business Strategies

Weighted Mean Verbal Interpretation

The shop laid off some 2.3 Disagree

employees because of
the pandemic.
The flavors of the milk 1.90 Disagree
tea have been reduced
to cope with the
decreasing demand.
The milk tea shop 3 Agree
advertised itself by
means of flyers and
online platforms.
Grand Weighted Mean 2.4 Disagree

Table 3 shows the assessment of the Respondents on the Business

Strategies in terms, if the shop laid off some employees, if the flavors have

been reduced to cope with the decreasing demand, and if the milk tea shop

advertised itself by means of flyers and online platforms.

The GWM of the evaluation is 2.4 with a verbal interpretation of Disagree.

Respondents acknowledge that their Business Strategies were negatively

affected by COVID-19.
 Chapter 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

The aim of this chapter is for researchers to summarize the findings

and arrive to a conclusion and give following recommendation for future

research.

Overall Summary

The study analyze the effects of COVID-19 on Milk tea shops in Cainta,

Rizal using the questionnaires made by the researchers. The study had two

main objectives which include.

i) To determine how COVID-19 affected the Sales of the milk tea

shops in Cainta, Rizal.

ii) To know how COVID-19 affected the business strategy of milk

tea shops in Cainta, Rizal.

The study used research design of descriptive design at Milk Tea

Shops in Cainta, Rizal. The required data was obtained after distributing

questionnaires to 10 respondents, all of them are Mlik Tea Shops in Cainta,

Rizal.
Conclusion

In view of findings above, it can be observed that.

i) From the questions that was asked to the Milk Tea Shops in

Cainta, Rizal, it was found that; the Grand Weighted Mean of the sales is 2.33

with a verbal interpretation of Disagree. This shows that the COVID-19

negatively affected the sales of Milk Tea Shops in Cainta, Rizal.

ii) The Grand Weighted Mean of Business Strategy is 2.4 with a

verbal interpretation of Disagree. The key issues in relation to Business

Strategy used by Milk Tea Shops in Cainta, Rizal were divided into two

factors; Economic Factors, Government Factors. Economic factors include the

inflation, it affected milk tea shops in several ways to begin with inflation leads

to an increase in the cost of raw materials such as tea tea leaves, milk, and

tapioca balls. Secondly, inflation can also affect the cost of utilities, such as

electricity and water, which are very essential for running a Milk Tea Shop,

then inflation can also affect the cost of labor because if the cost of living

expenses increase, Department Of Labor And Employment may also increase

the average salary of laborers. Lastly, inflation can lead to an overall in

consumers spending when the cost of living increases, consumers may have

less disposable income to spend on non-essential items, such as Milk Tea

which will lead to decrease in profit of Milk Tea Shops. Another factor is

government, government affected the Milk Tea Shops by implementing

“lockdown”. The lockdown has negatively impacted enterprises such as in the

form of increasing costs, reducing sales, and labor-related challenges

including remuneration or retrenchment. These factors greatly affected Milk

Tea Shops Business Strategies in a negative way.

Recommendations

Based on the findings, analysis, discussions, and conclusions of the

study. The following recommendations are put forward for the purpose of

enabling Milk tea Shops to increase their sales.

1. Increase the variety of flavors the customers can choose with.

2. Find places that mostly visited by target customers such as teens

students and young adults.

3. Find healthy alternatives to other ingredients affected by the inflation.

4. Develop a brand identity, not just a logo.

5. Create a strong business plan.

6. Examine your competitions, do some research if needed.

7. Use social media to run promotions.

8. Make the customers satisfaction your first priority.

9. Offer an affordable price but still with a good quality.

10. Create a unique packaging, style and accessories.

References:

The rise of bubble tea, one of Taiwan's most beloved beverages | CNN

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/taiwan-bubble-tea-origins/index.html

How Inflation Affects Boba Tea Shops and How to Still Succeed with 7 S –

Fanale Drinks

"Organizational resilience and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on

Philippine businesses" (upmin.edu.ph)

Daring Faith: How a Milk tea Business Thrived Amidst the Pandemic - CCT

Multipurpose Cooperative (cctmpc.org)