Mr Wish is an Asian Fruit Tea and Smoothie shop and they are coming to Deptford! The location is on Hurffville Road, across from Forman Mills and in the same center as Wendy’s. Store signage is up and a sign on the window says the are hiring for Boba-Baristas!
Mr Wish started in Taiwan but their US headquarters is in Philadelphia. They are a growing chain of Asian Fresh Fruit Tea and beverage shops, and according to their website they have 7 locations in New Jersey, 16 in Pennsylvania and locations in DE, NY, VA, GA, TX, CA and Washington.
In our South Jersey area they show Mr Wish locations in Cherry Hill, Pennsauken and Voorhees.
Mr Wish says they are the No 1 fresh fruit tea beverage brand in Taiwan… and maybe looking for similar success in the USA!?
Looking at their Corporate Facebook page it seems they are adding locations faster than they can add to the website!
At this time we do not know the opening date of the Deptford location, but the signage is up, as well as a small poster regarding job opportunities.
Next to Mr Wish is the Boiling House restaurant which seems to be changing its theme. More on that later.
Tea and Smoothie Menu
Mr Wish offers drink products in the following;
- Fruit Tea: Fresh fruits and juices including Apple, Kiwi, Orange, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Green Tea and more!
- Diced Fruit Tea: Similar to Fruit Tea but with fruit pulp or chunks
- Milk Tea (Bubble): The classic Taiwanese bubble tea with chewy black sugar bubble and rich milk tea flavor… plus 8 total varieties
- Fresh Babo: Refreshing drinks made with sparkling water and fruit
- Smoothies: Yogurt based smoothies combining the fresh ingredients of fruits!
- Macchiato: A variety of teas with a cheese milk foam laid on top
Looking at their Corporate Facebook page I see they also can offer Tieguanyin Soft Serve Ice Cream in the summer, as well as a cute paw print waffle cakes! We’ll have to see when Deptford opens, exactly what they offer!
Bubble Tea: Huge Growth in the USA
While Mr Wish defines themselves as a “Fresh Fruit Tea Beverage” Company, I believe most categorize them in the general Asian beverage market which is recognized as Boba / Bubble Tea.
The bubble tea (USA) market was valued at $2.4 billion in 2019 and is estimated to reach $4.3 billion by 2027
Allied Market Research
Let’s get one thing out of the way… I may have had bubble tea once in my life, so what I present here is gathered from other sources. But I am well aware of it’s growing impact in the US and our area.
Bubble Tea seems to be where this tea shop product category started, originally as a drink served in Asian restaurants. The beverages grew popular on its own and new varieties were added, and soon the once side item became its own food store category.
An article at Allied Market Research describes Bubble Tea as:
Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, boba juice, boba tea, or simply boba) is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in Tainan and Taichung in the 1980s. Most bubble tea recipes contain a tea base mixed with fruit or milk, to which chewy tapioca balls (known as bubbles, pearls, or boba) and fruit jelly are often added. Ice-blended versions are usually mixed with fruit or syrup, resulting in a slushy consistency.
Allied Market Research
Some may wonder where the Bubble Tea product and market came from… meaning it seems to have just gotten popular over the last few years.
An article at Eater.com gives a very detailed history of Bubble tea and the Bubble Tea culture, tracing the start of the tea back centuries ago… but it really didn’t evolve into what we see today until the 80s.
The Eater article goes on to say that it took a Congressional Act in 1965 to remove the restrictions on Asian immigration (and South and Eastern Europeans) to rapidly increase the Asian influx into the USA… who brought along their culture and cuisine.
Including Boba Bubble Tea.
Boba Bubble Tea in the USA predominately started on the West Coast and has worked its way across the country and globe
Another article at Eater.com explains more about the drink itself, and how to order.
There are some confusing concepts in the name and Eater does a good job explaining
The word “boba” can refer to either a broad category of chunky drinks — including everything from iced tea with tapioca pearls to fresh juice loaded with fruity bits — or black tapioca pearls themselves.
Eater.com
In the US, the East Coast favors bubble tea (name), while the West prefers boba.
Links and Location
Mr Wish Deptford – Coming Soon
1135 Hurffville Rd
Deptford NJ