Tapioca Express Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Tapioca Express is a bubble tea franchise serving boba milk teas, smoothies, snacks, and made-to-order drinks. Franchisees run cafes or kiosks, managing drink prep, inventory, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Tapioca Express franchise requires a total initial investment of $154K – $509K, including a $9K – $15K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $154K – $509K
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subset
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 15
- 45th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · 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 $154K – $509K including a $9K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports Gross Sales split into Top Half / Bottom Half of Operational Franchise Outlets (2025 Reporting Period, 15 outlets) rather than a single blended average: Top Half avg $1,157,936 (median $919,952, high $3,267,476, low $576,391); Bottom Half avg $324,124 (median $295,263, high $467,844, low $240,000). Company Owned Outlets (2 units) similarly split: Top Half $552,395; Bottom Half $268,053. No single system-wide average or net income figure is disclosed, so avg_gross_sales/avg_net_income are left null to avoid mixing cohorts.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better).
- FLAG4 units terminated last reporting year (26.7% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Tapioca Express, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Cheng Wei Lin
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- California
- HQ
- 1908 Central Avenue, South El Monte, California 91733
- Auditor
- Yeh & Associates
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.7M
- vs $1.7M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Cheng Wei Lin
- Headquarters
- California
- Founded
- 1999
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 50% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $9K | $9K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $18K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $127K | $470K |
| Total initial investment | $154K | $509K |
Source: Tapioca Express 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $154K – $509K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $18K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $9K – $15K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 3.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $4K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 3.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Tapioca Express did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Tapioca Express unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
35%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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
Item 19 reports Gross Sales split into Top Half / Bottom Half of Operational Franchise Outlets (2025 Reporting Period, 15 outlets) rather than a single blended average: Top Half avg $1,157,936 (median $919,952, high $3,267,476, low $576,391); Bottom Half avg $324,124 (median $295,263, high $467,844, low $240,000). Company Owned Outlets (2 units) similarly split: Top Half $552,395; Bottom Half $268,053. No single system-wide average or net income figure is disclosed, so avg_gross_sales/avg_net_income are left null to avoid mixing cohorts.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Median gross sales
- $468K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
No system-wide average is published for this brand. The median and range below are what Item 19 supports; we show an average only where it reconciles against them.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales halves
- Sample size
- 15
- vs category median 20
- Range (low → high)
- $240K→$3.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $324K→$1.2M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
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 3.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross sales halves rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System contracting at -48.0% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Tapioca Express Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 15
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 4
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 6
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 76.9%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 1%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -48.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -48.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 5
- Terminated (3yr)
- 4
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 4
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 15.8%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 31.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 3 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
3
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 3 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 3
- Loan volume
- $799K
- Median loan
- $184K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (3 loans) — rate not shown below 10
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
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Litigation (Item 3)
None disclosed - Item 3 states no litigation information is required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Yeh & Associates
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 40 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORSharp unit contraction: net growth -29.2%
- 02MINORVery thin net income $21,695
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 3.0% 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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Los Angeles County, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
None disclosed - Item 3 states no litigation information is required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 4 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 54 hrs
- Training location
- El Monte, California and Alhambra, California
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee_with_franchisor_approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Clover and Snackpass
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Clover and Snackpass
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
24 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Tapioca Express · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Tapioca Express franchise?
The total investment to open a Tapioca Express franchise ranges from $154K – $509K, with an initial franchise fee of $9K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Tapioca Express franchise owners earn?
Tapioca Express 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 Item 19 in the Tapioca Express 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 Tapioca Express FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Tapioca Express's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Tapioca Express (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 Tapioca Express franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Tapioca Express has 15 total units in the United States, including 13 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Tapioca Express a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Tapioca Express as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.