Low Sugar Bubble Tea Gains Ground in Riyadh Under Saudi Arabia's New Tax

Key facts

Low sugar bubble tea is moving from a niche order into a standard menu category this year, as global chains reformulate recipes and Saudi Arabia's tax code now rewards them for doing it. On April 14, 2026, Taiwan-based chain Gong cha, which operates stores in Riyadh including one at View Mall through local franchise partner Shahia Foods Group, launched a five-drink "Levitea" lineup, HoneyBerry, Passion, HoneyLemon, Strawberry and Matcha among them, each recipe kept under 99 calories in a medium cup by pairing green tea jelly with lighter syrup pours instead of a standard sugar base. Gong cha's vice president of marketing, Missy Maio, said the drinks were built for customers "seeking beverages that balance taste and better-for-you benefits."

The push has a regulatory backdrop specific to Saudi Arabia. Since January 1, 2026, the Kingdom has taxed sweetened beverages, milk tea and bubble tea included, on a tiered scale tied to grams of sugar per 100 milliliters, replacing a flat 50 percent excise rate. Analysts at Worldpanel by Numerator wrote in February that the new structure gives manufacturers a direct financial reason to cut sugar, noting that "brands that actively innovate will be best positioned to defend share and capture growing demand for healthier beverage formats."

What it means for Riyadh

Riyadh's bubble tea counters, like most bubble tea shops globally, typically let a customer dial sugar down before a drink is even made, so the shift toward lower-sugar recipes builds on a habit residents already know. What is changing is the default. Where a lighter cup used to mean asking for a smaller pour of syrup, chains are now designing entire drinks, tea base, jelly and toppings included, to land under a sugar threshold from the first sip rather than treating "less sweet" as a special request.

That shift matters beyond any single storefront. Data Bridge Market Research projects Saudi Arabia to post the fastest growth rate in the wider Gulf Cooperation Council bubble tea market, pointing to rising demand for low-sugar and fruit-infused drinks as a driver. Layer the new excise brackets on top, and a shop's sugar profile now shows up on the receipt, giving Riyadh operators, whether an international chain or a homegrown brand, a plain business reason to keep a genuinely lighter option on the menu rather than an occasional one.

Background

Traditional bubble tea built its identity on sweetness: a full-sugar base tea, condensed or powdered creamer, and a sugar syrup used to coat the tapioca pearls, a combination that made "less sweet" one of the few requests a health-conscious customer could make at the counter. For years, that request only trimmed the syrup pour, leaving the milk and pearl sweetness untouched, since the base recipe itself rarely changed.

Saudi Arabia's new tax structure took effect on January 1, 2026, following a Gulf Cooperation Council decision to standardize how member states calculate excise duty on sweetened drinks, replacing the Kingdom's earlier flat 50 percent rate with brackets tied to sugar content per 100 milliliters. Regional market researchers have separately tracked rising demand for low-sugar, dairy-free bubble tea variants across the Gulf Cooperation Council, describing it as a trend that predates the tax change but now has a financial incentive layered on top of it, one more reason for operators to treat reformulation as routine rather than seasonal.

Takeaway

Low sugar bubble tea is no longer just a special request; it is becoming the recipe chains design around from the start, pushed along by Saudi Arabia's new sugar-based tax and a regional customer base that was already asking for lighter options. For Riyadh residents, the practical result is more choice at the counter, not less flavor.