Molly Tea Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $528K – $1.1M
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Molly Tea is a premium tea franchise serving handcrafted jasmine milk teas and specialty tea drinks. Franchisees run the shops, managing drink prep, ingredient inventory, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Molly Tea franchise requires a total initial investment of $528K – $1.1M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2025. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $528K – $1.1M
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $528K – $1.1M including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 33/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- MOLLYTEA Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Molly Tea IP Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Molly Tea Limited
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Manager and Chief Executive Officer
- Biao Zhang
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 6 Kilmer Road, Suite B, Edison, New Jersey 08817
- Auditor
- CBIZ CPAs P.C.
- Audited financials
Affiliated brands
- MollyTea Shops
- MollyTea Supplychain
- Molly Tea
- MollyTea USA
- MollyTea Holding
- Shenzhen Molly Tea Food and Beverage Management Co
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Biao Zhang
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 0
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 21% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Pre-Opening Travel, Lodging, and Meals for Initial Training | $15K | $30K | |
| Lease Deposit (3 months' rent) | $15K | $75K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $50K | $200K | |
| Point of Sale Systems and Computer Hardware and Software | $3K | $10K | |
| Initial Inventory and Supplies (3 months) | $150K | $250K | |
| Business Store Licenses, Permits, etc. (first year) | $15K | $15K | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixtures | $150K | $300K | |
| Signage | $5K | $15K | |
| Insurance Premiums (first 3 months) | $3K | $5K | |
| Security and Utility Deposits | $5K | $20K | |
| Architect, Engineer and Other Professional Fees | $2K | $8K | |
| Advertising and Promotion/Grand Opening (3 months) | $15K | $30K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $50K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $528K | $1.1M |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $528K – $1.1M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $100K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $15K |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $38K |
| Renewal fee | $38K |
| Inventory (initial) | $150K – $250K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Molly Tea makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Molly Tea unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% — above the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Molly Tea Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 21
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Molly Tea is a pre-revenue stage franchise with minimal unit count, no financial transparency, short contract term, and unprotected territory—presenting substantial execution and profitability risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation disclosure provided in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CBIZ CPAs P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Inception-stage company (formed January 16, 2025); audited statements for the period from inception through April 30, 2025 report no revenue, a net loss of $38,845, and a total member's deficit of $(37,845). The notes to the FY2025 statements say the company's losses and its dependence on funding from its owners raised substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern, and that management concluded a funding commitment alleviates that doubt. The auditor's report is unmodified and carries no going-concern section.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 33 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 4 units system-wide indicates minimal scale, unproven model, and high failure risk
- 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation and suggests weak unit economics
- 03MINOR1-year term is unusually short and creates instability; most franchises offer 5-10 year terms
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees and franchisor expansion
- 05MINORWide investment range ($527.5K-$1.1M) with no clear cost breakdown raises transparency concerns
- 06MED8% royalty on undisclosed revenue makes it impossible to model profitability or break-even timeline
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 1 year |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 1 year |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York, New York |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | NY |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosure provided in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 56 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 160 hrs
- Training location
- Shenzhen, China (corporate office and affiliated Molly Tea stores)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Resto and Chowbus
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Resto and Chowbus
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Molly Tea franchise?
The total investment to open a Molly Tea franchise ranges from $528K – $1.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Molly Tea franchise owners earn?
Molly Tea makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Molly Tea?
Molly Tea is franchised by MOLLYTEA Franchising LLC. Its parent company is Molly Tea IP Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Molly Tea Limited. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Molly Tea FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Molly Tea FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Molly Tea's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Molly 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 Molly Tea franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Molly Tea has 4 total units in the United States.
Is Molly Tea a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Molly Tea as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 33 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Molly Tea, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Full-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Full-Service Restaurants category
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.