Tapioca Express
Bottom line
- Total investment $138K – $479K including a $15K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $677K/year.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 70/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1 loans (below the industry average).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Tapioca Express unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
23%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Tapioca Express units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$609K
on $3.0M purchase
Total debt
$2.4M
SBA $1.5M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service bubble tea and tapioca beverage shops, managing POS systems, inventory, staff scheduling, and customer service in a retail location. Day-to-day operations include beverage preparation, quality control, local marketing, and managing labor costs within a protected territory.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Tapioca Express presents high risk due to significant unit decline, missing financial disclosures, and franchisor going concern status, making ROI validation impossible and suggesting systemic operational or financial problems.
Score breakdown · what drove the 70 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 26.1% year-over-year (19 units) indicates system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI validation and suggests franchisor may be hiding unfavorable unit economics
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability or legal/operational issues at franchisor level
- 04MEDHigh investment range ($137.5K–$479.1K) with undisclosed profitability creates significant downside risk
- 05MINORRoyalty structure's $500/month floor may be burdensome for underperforming locations, especially given average revenue of $676K
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
23 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Tapioca Express · FDD (2024) PDF