Zero-calorie pearl milk tea? Bubble tea chain takes down ad that confused customers

03 Mar 2024

Bubble tea chain iTEA will be taking down an advertisement that appeared to promote drinks like pearl milk tea as zero-sugar and zero-calorie. The advertisements, which had been up at 12 of the brand’s outlets since January 2024, had baffled consumers with its confusing and seemingly contradictory claims. The promotion poster depicts three drinks – jasmine green tea, pearl milk tea, and matcha latte with azuki beans – with text saying “zero sugar, zero calories and zero guilt” and that this is “applicable for all drinks”. iTEA senior area manager Lau Jia Li said the advertisement was to promote the chain’s “zero-calorie zero-fat sugar substitute”. “The zero calorie that we are referring to is the sugar substitute we are using, and not the drink itself,” she added. SP lead nutritionist Ms Carolyn Stephen said that the milk and pearls in bubble tea drinks contain carbohydrates and protein even if sugar substitutes are used, and those macronutrients have calories.

[The Straits Times]