Why most of the numbers you find online are useless
Search this question and you will mostly find lending websites. They quote a capital requirement because their business is lending you that capital. What they do not give you is an itemised list of what you actually buy on day one, at real prices, from a real supplier.
This page does. Every figure below is a published price from kremecity.com.ph, checked in August 2026.
The ingredient opening order: roughly 3,000 to 4,000 pesos
This surprises people. The ingredients for a credible four-flavour milk tea launch are not the expensive part.
| Item | Published price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Milk tea powder, 500g — 4 flavours | 220 to 295 pesos each | Roughly 1,000 to 1,200 pesos for four |
| Black tapioca pearls, 1kg | 95 pesos | Two bags is a sensible opening buy |
| Syrups, 1kg | from 160 pesos | Caramel, blueberry and similar |
| Cups, lids, straws | Not individually published | Ask the branch for a quote |
Note one gap honestly: milk tea powder is currently published in 500g packs only. There is no 1kg SKU listed. If you are costing at volume, ask the branch directly rather than assuming a bulk tier exists.
The two items nobody warns you about
Sealing film and a cup sealer. These are not currently stocked on kremecity.com.ph and you will need to source them separately. A sealed cup is the single visual cue customers use to judge whether a milk tea stall is legitimate. Budget for the sealer as equipment, not as supplies, and buy the film in a width that matches your cup diameter — mismatched film is the most common opening-week failure.
Where the money actually goes
Ingredients are a small fraction of a real launch. Honest categories, in rough descending order:
- Equipment — sealer, blenders, refrigeration, and a stall or counter build-out. This dominates the budget.
- Location — deposit and advance rent, typically the largest single cheque.
- Permits — barangay clearance, mayor’s permit, BIR registration, sanitary permit.
- Working capital — the money that keeps you trading through the first slow weeks. Underfunding this is what closes new stalls, not ingredient cost.
- Ingredients — as above, 3,000 to 4,000 pesos to open with four flavours.
We are not going to invent numbers for the first four, because they vary enormously by city, footprint and whether you are building a kiosk or fitting out an existing space. Anyone who gives you a single national figure for those is guessing.
A more useful question than “how much do I need?”
Ask instead: how many cups a day do I need to sell to cover my fixed cost? That number decides whether a location works. Ingredient cost per cup is genuinely low; rent per cup is what kills margin at low volume.
Our ROI calculator works through that arithmetic for soft serve, and the same logic applies to milk tea: contribution margin per cup, divided into fixed monthly cost, gives you the daily volume you must hit.
If you are adding soft serve alongside milk tea
Worth knowing before you plan the menu: soft serve premix runs roughly 200 pesos per kilo at entry level. At a 30 percent overrun and a 100ml serving, one kilo yields around 52 servings — putting powder cost near 4 pesos per cone. Cone cost varies far more than the powder does. Bulk cone packs work out around 0.62 pesos per cone, while small retail packs run about 3.33 pesos. On 60 servings a day that difference alone is close to 4,900 pesos a month.
Prices quoted are those listed on kremecity.com.ph as of August 2026 and are reviewed quarterly. Confirm current pricing before ordering.
If you need the full document — for a lender, an instructor, or your own planning — the milk tea business plan with a free sample PDF walks through all seven sections with these same prices.
Before you commit
Two things worth doing that cost nothing: visit a branch and taste the products you plan to sell, and read our 12 questions to ask any supplier before you place a first order with anyone, us included.
Frequently asked questions
How much capital do you need for a milk tea business in the Philippines?
The ingredient side is small: roughly ₱3,000 to ₱4,000 opens a four-flavour menu at posted prices. The real capital goes to equipment, the stall or lease deposit, permits, and working capital — and those vary so much by city and setup that any single national figure is a guess. Cost your own list with the table on this page.
Is ₱10,000 enough to start a milk tea business?
It covers the opening ingredient order of ₱3,000 to ₱4,000, small tools, and a first restock — but not a cup sealer, equipment, deposits, or permits. Opening beside an existing counter or from home, ₱10,000 can fund a test run; a standalone stall needs a bigger budget.
Magkano ang puhunan sa milk tea business?
Nasa ₱3,000 hanggang ₱4,000 ang ingredients para sa apat na flavor — powders, pearls, syrup at cups — sa mga presyong nakalista sa kremecity.com.ph. Ang mas malaking gastos ay ang equipment, deposito sa pwesto, permits, at panggastos habang bago pa ang tindahan; magkakaiba ito bawat lungsod, kaya i-compute ang sarili mong listahan gamit ang table sa page na ito.
What equipment do you need to start selling milk tea?
At minimum: a way to brew tea, a chiller or reliable ice supply, a shaker, a pearl cooker and scooper, cups with lids or a sealer, and measuring tools. The cup sealer is the classic decision — sealing film and sealers are not stocked on kremecity.com.ph, so either source one separately or open with press-on flat lids and defer it.
