FranchiseVerdict
Kokee Tea logo
FV-01427·MODERATEExcellent86

Kokee Tea

Food & Beverage - Coffee & TeaFranchising since 2018Website
Investment
$147K – $560K
9th pct Coffee & Tea
Avg revenue
$512K
5th pct Coffee & Tea
Royalty
5.0%
17th pct Coffee & Tea
Units
28
68th pct Coffee & Tea
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $147K – $560K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $512K/year.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 57/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 4 loans (below the industry average).
  • 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
Delaware
HQ
8965 Guilford Road, Suite 160, Columbia, MD 21046
Auditor
Chevron & Rockers, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$579K
vs $534K prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Kokee Tea unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $512,174
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $147K–$560K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $34K–$129K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

14%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$61K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$435K
Payback
85 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Kokee Tea units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$512K

on $2.6M purchase

Total debt

$2.0M

SBA $1.3M + senior + seller note

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
Founded
2018
FDD year
2024
States available
5

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$147K – $560K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$34K – $129K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
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

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$512K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Average Sales Per Store
Sample size
19 units
vs category median 13
Transparency
3 / 5
vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Revenue rank5th
vs Food & Beverage - Coffee & Tea peers
Investment cost rank9th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank17th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank68th
vs Food & Beverage - Coffee & Tea peers
Risk score rank28th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

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
2022
28+5
Franchised units
2023
23
Franchised units
2024
15
Franchised units

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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 4 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
4
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

57
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE57 / 100

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.

Score breakdown · what drove the 57 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $512K avg revenue claim — cannot verify actual profitability or ROI
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential franchisor financial instability or undisclosed operational challenges
  3. 03MINORHigh investment range ($147K-$559K) with opaque net income creates unclear path to break-even and ROI timeline
  4. 04MEDOnly 28 units with 21.7% YoY growth is modest for a tea franchise — limited scale and market validation
  5. 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

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Virginia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
15 hrs
On-the-job training
57 hrs

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

4 numbers

Locked
(213) 576-••••
CA
(317) 232-••••
IN
(808) 586-••••
HI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Kokee Tea · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above