Premium Matcha Café MaikoFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Premium Matcha Café Maiko franchise requires a total initial investment of $333K – $471K, including a $35K franchise fee. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $333K – $471K
- 21st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 26
- 30th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
Bottom line
- Total investment $333K – $471K including a $35K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 65/100.
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Eight USA Inc.
- Parent company
- EIGHT KABUSHIKI GAISHA (Japan)
- Ultimate parent
- EIGHT KABUSHIKI GAISHA
- CEO title
- President
- Hideyuki Hashimoto
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- HI
- HQ
- 1441 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 910, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
- Auditor
- REIWA ACCOUNTING LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.6M
- vs $1.8M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate premium matcha café locations serving specialty matcha beverages, tea-based drinks, and light food offerings. Day-to-day operations include inventory management of matcha powder and premium ingredients, barista training and supervision, customer service, marketing in their local territory, and compliance with franchisor operational standards.
- CEO
- Hideyuki Hashimoto
- Headquarters
- HI
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 15
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Real Estate Rental | $5K | $15K | |
| Construction fees including fixtures and equipment installation | $180K | $180K | |
| Soft serve machine | $27K | $27K | |
| Ice cream freezer | $7K | $7K | |
| Ice cube machine | $6K | $6K | |
| Refrigerator | $4K | $4K | |
| Undercounter refrigerator | $3K | $3K | |
| Inventory | $12K | $12K | |
| Kitchen supplies | $3K | $3K | |
| Consultation fees | $3K | $3K | |
| Computer, IT and other systems | $10K | $15K | |
| Furnishing | $20K | $70K | |
| Opening Advertising | $3K | $10K | |
| Insurance (1 year) | $2K | $2K | |
| Training | $1K | $2K | |
| Additional Funds | $10K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $330K | $413K |
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
- $333K – $471K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Higher of $500 or 5% on all Gross Sales
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | higher of $500 monthly fee or 5% Food and Beverage Royalty Fee |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $35K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Premium Matcha Café Maiko Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 26
- Opened
- 2
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 96%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 60.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +8.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +8.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 3.8%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 23 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.
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Regulatory repeat offender with zero financial transparency, anemic growth, and undisclosed going concern issues—avoid until compliance and unit economics are demonstrated.
Litigation (Item 3)
Eight USA Inc. faced two government regulatory actions: (1) Washington Securities Division Consent Order (Case No. S-19-2813-20-CO01) settled June 12, 2020 / July 7, 2020, for violation of Franchise Investment Protection Act; Eight USA obtained Franchise Registration Permit on May 27, 2021. (2) Virginia State Corporation Commission Division of Securities and Retail Franchising (Case No. SEC-2021-00021) initiated May 5, 2021, regarding compliance with Virginia Retail Franchising Act; response filed May 28, 2021.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · REIWA ACCOUNTING LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 65 / 100 rating
- 01MINORMultiple regulatory violations across three states (WA, VA, CA) for illegal franchise sales and disclosure failures between 2020-2023, indicating systemic compliance issues
- 02MINORZero financial transparency: no average unit volume, average net income, or Item 19 disclosure, making ROI impossible to validate
- 03HIGHAnemic growth rate of 8.7% YoY with only 26 units suggests market rejection or saturation in premium matcha category; units may be declining post-litigation
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($333K-$471K) combined with mandatory $500/month minimum royalty creates cash flow pressure without proven unit economics
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; multiple franchisees can canibalize same market without contractual safeguards
- 06MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years typical), offering minimal amortization window for initial investment
- 07HIGH'Going Concern' status is FALSE, raising questions about franchisor financial stability and ability to support franchisees long-term
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Approved Location |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1.5 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 14 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Hawaii |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Hawaii |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Eight USA Inc. faced two government regulatory actions: (1) Washington Securities Division Consent Order (Case No. S-19-2813-20-CO01) settled June 12, 2020 / July 7, 2020, for violation of Franchise Investment Protection Act; Eight USA obtained Franchise Registration Permit on May 27, 2021. (2) Virginia State Corporation Commission Division of Securities and Retail Franchising (Case No. SEC-2021-00021) initiated May 5, 2021, regarding compliance with Virginia Retail Franchising Act; response filed May 28, 2021.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 5 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 25 hrs
- Training location
- Hawaii Store
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 25 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- electronic cash register or other computer system commonly used in the retail industry
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: electronic cash register or other computer system commonly used in the retail industry
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
39 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Premium Matcha Café Maiko · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Premium Matcha Café Maiko franchise?
The total investment to open a Premium Matcha Café Maiko franchise ranges from $333K – $471K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Premium Matcha Café Maiko franchise owners earn?
Premium Matcha Café Maiko does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Premium Matcha Café Maiko's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Premium Matcha Café Maiko (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 Premium Matcha Café Maiko franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Premium Matcha Café Maiko has 26 total units in the United States, including 23 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Premium Matcha Café Maiko a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Premium Matcha Café Maiko as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 65 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.