Granny Ma’s bubble tea in crowdfunding struggle for survival

Granny Ma’s, once deemed Cambridge’s best bubble tea by The Tab, is being forced to permanently shut its doors. Much loved by students, Granny Ma’s is well known not only for the quality of their tea but also their sustainability initiatives.

These include a commitment to biodegradable cups, bamboo straws, and a menu that champions seasonal ingredients.

However, Granny Ma’s has joined the ranks of businesses unable to pay staff or rent due to COVID-19, and so will tragically be unable to reopen post-lockdown if they cannot raise sufficient funds.

Granny Ma’s has taken notes from the successful crowdfunding approach recently taken by the independent Cambridge coffee shop Bould Brothers, offering ‘buy in advance’ gift cards to keep cash flowing and staff paid. They also promise a re-opening party for top donors, should the business be saved.

Any money donated in excess of the baseline required to remain open has been pledged to employing members of  Cambridge’s homeless community.

However, at the time of writing, they had raised less than 30% of their target, with mere days left to reach it.

Granny Ma’s were depending on seven may ball appearances this year – when combined with catastrophic loss of business at the market this summer, they predict a loss in trade in excess of £30,000.

Due to restrictions on how long a business has to have been open to apply for government support, Granny Ma’s is set to be yet another start-up to fall through the cracks, taking its staff with it.

The death of the high street seemed set to be a prolonged struggle only a couple of months ago, but with online shopping’s stranglehold on the COVID-19 economy, the collapse of small businesses such as Granny Ma’s may have sealed its fate.

You can view and support the crowdfunding effort here.

Featured image credit: Tiffany Lee

Granny Ma’s have been approached for comment