The smell of pineapples, strawberries and milk tea permeates the air as Lily Clark, founder of Bo.Co, works diligently to perfect her pineapple whip boba drink. Her younger sister, Luci Clark, helps her out at the counter, taking orders and pouring the frothy liquid over delectable tapioca pearls in clear cups. A large, purple straw is added to the mix, and just like that, the perfect boba tea is created.

Lily Clark, 25, and Luci Clark, 21, both KHS alumni, were first introduced to boba when they traveled to Taiwan in 2018 on a KHS trip. Originally from China, the sisters were adopted when they were less than a year old and were raised in St. Louis.

“The reason we wanted to start [a boba business] was to get more in touch with our Chinese heritage and culture,” Lily said. “When we came back to St. Louis, [we realized] there weren’t many places doing boba. We kind of joked about [starting] our own business, and a few years later, here we are.”

Lily, who currently works a day job at a marketing firm in Webster Groves, said that starting the business was a difficult process. Because there wasn’t anyone around to help her with the legal and administrative side of things, Lily said she and her sister had to figure out most of it on their own. 

“[I had this] internal battle about whether I should even pursue [the business, or] if it was a dumb idea [and] no one would like it,” Lily said. “There’s the coming up with your first product and thinking, ‘oh it’s going to be so easy, I’ve had this idea in my head and I know how to make boba,’ and then failing. You fail 20 times, and you just want to give up [because] you’ve spent all this money and energy and [you] can’t make it work out. It’s really that perseverance that you need to be an entrepreneur.”

Lily started out making and selling boba inspired candles in 2021. Once she gained enough revenue to reinvest into the business in 2022, she started selling boba tea out of a stand in the Soulard Farmers Market, located in downtown St. Louis. This year, she plans on setting up a location in the Kirkwood Farmers Market as well.

We got lucky [last] year,” Lily said. “We had incredible feedback about our flavors, [and] we had a lot of repeat customers. Because the business model worked so well in the first year, we started thinking [about] repeating the same thing in a different location. We came back to Kirkwood because that’s where we grew up.”

Luci, who is currently studying video game design at Webster University, said that she tries to help Lily out with the business as much as she can. Lily said she was thankful for her sister’s help and support.

“It’s definitely great, going into business and feeling like you’re not alone,” Lily said. “Having Luci to bounce ideas off of and to say, ‘hey, do you think this weekend you could try making this recipe so I can focus my time on the bookkeeping and accounting,’ has been really helpful too.”

According to Lily, the Marketing Class and Internship course that is run by the KHS business department has been another partner for her. The marketing team is split into a social media, PR and events group. The PR team, which Sarah Neumann, senior, is part of, works to spread awareness about Bo.Co.

“I reached out to WashU students, and [Lily] did an interview with them for a podcast,” Neumann said. “I also [recently] heard back from the WashU China Care Club. They are hosting an event, and Lily is going to be there. She is going to speak about her products and how she started from being an adopted Asian American to starting her own business.”

Neumann said that taking this class has helped her connect with clients and use her marketing skills to help Bo.Co reach Lily’s desired goals. She said that Lily’s story and dedication is inspiring.

“The fact that, despite her working a full time job, she decided to open up a boba shop and try [something] new really inspired me,” Neumann said. “She knew what she wanted [to do], and she went for it.”

Bo.Co was closed for the winter, and will reopen in April. Lily plans to continue running the location in Soulard this year, and hopes to open up the new location in Kirkwood soon. Lily said that her main goal is to eventually become the leading boba manufacturer in Missouri, and to scale the business to the point where most people in the midwest know what Bo.Co is. She and her sister, Luci, said they plan to continue working hard to grow their business.

“We support each other, [and] we build each other up,” Luci said. “Obviously, there have been struggles, where we were like, ‘what if this doesn’t work, what if customers don’t receive it well and we have to start all over again,’ but eventually, it does work out, we just have to stay strong.”