Kokee TeaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Kokee Tea franchise requires a total initial investment of $147K – $560K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $512K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $147K – $560K
- 17th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $512K
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 28
- 52nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchised units fell from 28 to 15 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $147K – $560K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $512K/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 37/100.
- System growing at 86.7% CAGR over 3 years with 28 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- KOKEE TEA, LLC
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 8965 Guilford Road, Suite 160, Columbia, MD 21046
- Auditor
- Chevron & Rockers, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $579K
- vs $534K prior year
Overview
About
Kokee Tea franchisees operate quick-service beverage retail locations specializing in tea-based drinks. Daily operations include preparing and serving specialty teas, managing point-of-sale transactions, inventory control, and customer service in leased retail spaces. Franchisees are responsible for staffing, local marketing, and maintaining brand standards across a protected territory.
- CEO
- Hyun Kim
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 9 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Lease Depositnot refundable | $5K | $30K | |
| Construction & Build Out Costsnot refundable | $40K | $300K | |
| Fixtures & Equipmentnot refundable | $29K | $60K | |
| Initial Inventorynot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Advertisingnot refundable | $1K | $1K | |
| Initial Training | $1K | $3K | |
| Additional Fundsnot refundable | $34K | $129K | |
| Total initial investment | $147K | $560K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$82K
16.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
19%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $147K – $560K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $34K – $129K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Monthly Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $512K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Average Sales Per Store
- Sample size
- 19 units
- vs category median 28
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Financial performance by segment
Item 19 detail
Where the franchisor disclosed sales by quartile, unit age, state, or service line — the actual distribution behind the average.
By state
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| VA | 7 | $378K |
By service line
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| georgia texas alabama stores | 19 | $512K |
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Kokee Tea Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 28
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +21.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +86.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Transfer rate
- 3.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $350K
- Median loan
- $175K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Kokee Tea's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 2 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 1 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 2-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Kokee Tea presents caution-level risk due to undisclosed profitability metrics, going concern status, and modest unit growth that obscures the true financial viability of franchise investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Chevron & Rockers, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Score breakdown · what drove the 37 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $512K avg revenue claim — cannot verify actual profitability or ROI
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential franchisor financial instability or undisclosed operational challenges
- 03MINORHigh investment range ($147K-$559K) with opaque net income creates unclear path to break-even and ROI timeline
- 04MEDOnly 28 units with 21.7% YoY growth is modest for a tea franchise — limited scale and market validation
- 05MINOR5% royalty on gross revenues (not net) means franchisees pay royalties even during unprofitable months
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
Item 8 · 12 categories disclosed
Supplier requirements
| Category | Approval | Kickback |
|---|---|---|
| Branded retail merchandise / apparelfranchisor-owned | Required | — |
| Equipment, cabinets, gift bags and other suppliesfranchisor-owned | Required | Equipment and Operations Portion: 35% to 40% of equipment required initially; required cost is 35% to 40% for new openings. |
| Food products / ingredientsfranchisor-owned | Required | Affiliate revenue $602,717 from tea supplies for 17 stores (avg $35,453.97/store); required items include logo cup & bag, flavor syrup, powder, topping, logo uniform, Kokee Tea logo products. Milk and other local items not required. |
| Uniformsfranchisor-owned | Required | — |
| Advertising and marketing materials | Required | — |
| Computer hardware and software / POS | Required | — |
| Fixtures and furnishings | Required | — |
| General approved products / other supplies | Required | Franchisor may receive payment from suppliers for the right to do business with the system (supplier rebates considered in approval). Total franchisor revenue $723,101; revenues from required purchases/leases $25,000 (3.46% of total). |
| Insurance | Required | — |
| Real estate / leasing | Required | — |
| Signage | Required | — |
| Store construction / build-out | Required | — |
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Virginia |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 57 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
4 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Kokee Tea · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Kokee Tea franchise?
The total investment to open a Kokee Tea franchise ranges from $147K – $560K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Kokee Tea franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Kokee Tea FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $512K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Kokee Tea's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Kokee Tea (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Kokee Tea franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Kokee Tea has 28 total units in the United States, including 28 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Kokee Tea a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Kokee Tea as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 37 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.