Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Huynh.
Hi Olivia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My family and I love to try fun and new flavors, concepts, etc. We went on a trip to New York City and found so many great places, except for cookies. Every place had the really boring traditional flavors. My mom and I experiment with lots of different flavors and foods so I asked my mom why no place had flavors like ours. I told her I wanted to start a cookie business so everyone can try my cookies. She told me everyone wouldn’t be able to since we would only be able to bake cookies and sell it here locally. So, I thought and thought and saw ads for subscription boxes. I had an idea! Let’s make a cookie mix so people could make it at home and it would be yummy and fresh. We could even measure it out for them so anyone could do it! I told my mom I would put all my money towards it. I had money saved from doing my YouTube channel, DIYwithOllie. I also model and act so I had some saved from commercials and ads as well!
My mom agreed saying it would be a great lesson on business (she homeschools us). We put it together and launched it on October 15 of 2019. I love stuff that’s good for you and also supporting smaller businesses so I make our cookies with as many organic ingredients as possible as well as feature locally sourced ingredients, artisan ingredients, as well as gourmet ingredients that is normally harder for home bakers to get. We were thinking maybe 10-15 people may order from us each month. Crazily, it did way better than we all expected. 6 months in we were shipping over 1000 boxes a month. A year later we were doing over 2500 boxes a month. Since opening, over 1 million cookies have been baked by my subscribers.
I had a warehouse/office from the subscription box but we didn’t use the office side. I decided that I wanted to bake cookies for those that didn’t have time to bake, plus, show people that cookies can be fun and not boring!
I also like bubble tea but most places didn’t taste that good to me. So, we decided to open up the bakery and self-serve bubble tea bar! We worked on the flavors for months and came up with fun ideas to make everything interactive. On the 2nd anniversary of the business, I soft opened the bakery/bubble tea side!
The reason I chose self-serve is so that people can sample the drinks and cookies. This way they will always get something they like, AND they can find new flavors to love. Sometimes I go to other places and I want to try new things but I get scared that it won’t be something I like. This method makes it so that everyone can discover something new. I make traditional boba flavors as well as fun new flavors not normally found in boba. I use real fruit purees when it’s possible and use organic sugar in all of my teas. My traditional boba pearls are also infused with flavor. We use Wildflower Honey from Austin, TX and Organic Brown Sugar. We cook them in small batches. It is also kept in a warmer for the best taste. We make sure they’re opposite of bland and our customers have purchased it to eat it by itself. I’m super proud of that part! ❤️
Some of our places are permanent, the rest rotate with our other flavors and seasonal flavors. Currently, we have over 2 dozen boba flavors and over 3 dozen cookie flavors. We serve up 10 cold bubble tea flavors each day as well as 2 hot ones when the weather is under 70 degrees.
We also take flavor requests so if you plan to come by, just let us know a day ahead and we’ll do our best to get it on the menu.
At the shop, I decided I want a fun gift shop to browse, a room where we can decorate with fun things and people can use it to take pictures/selfies or make fun videos, vlogs, TikToks with. Lastly, I wanted a room for fun with friends and family. We have lots of board games and there’s even a work area for people to come and work during the day.
I’m always available to play and have so much fun dancing with my customers, making videos, or playing board games. So, if you ever need a buddy come visit me! And if you’re ever feeling sad, I give lots of warm hugs!
I plan to add fun events here soon, maybe some crafting and contests! I love having fun and I want everyone who comes here to have fun too! Can’t wait to meet everyone!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Oh my gosh! There was so much to learn! We didn’t know how to mail out a lot of boxes at once. We found a small business space but we outgrew it and had to find another one. Things getting lost in the mail. The pandemic came and we couldn’t find flour, sugar, or any of ingredients we normally use.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I don’t know. I specialize in being a kid. Haha. I am known for my YouTube channel DIYwithOllie. I am also known for the commercials I’ve been in, like Haverty’s, Pizza Hut, Chili’s, etc.
I also live piano, karate, gymnastics, acting, and singing.
I am most proud of my little brothers. They are both so smart.
People have told me I am different because I am talkative and like to meet everyone and learn about everyone.
I am also really happy I get to meet people from all over the world. They invite me to play games with them and tell me stories about where they’re from. It’s so cool!
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think so? Both of the business ideas were risky but my family supported me so it made me feel like I could do anything.
Pricing:
- 16 oz bubble teacups and bottles are $5.50 each
- Cookies are $3.50 each, half dozen for $20, and a dozen for $36.
- Lots of cute stuff in the gift shop.
Contact Info:
- Email: Hey@freshbubblestea.com
- Website: Freshbubblestea.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshbubblestea/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshbubblestea/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/freshbubblestea/
- Yelp: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.yelp.com/biz/fresh-bubbles-tea-and-cookies-irving%3Fhrid%3D6lu3pbZbXNhwLxO28Lis6A%26osq%3DBoba%2BTea&ved=2ahUKEwjuweKwq6v0AhWMmGoFHTCpBCwQFnoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3xU-Eg0CW2J6Xq2-kkYrg8
