The Coffee Bean & Tea LeafFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise requires a total initial investment of $532K – $1.4M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $532K – $1.4M
- 84th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 42nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 40th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 179
- 80th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
The system contracted 10% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $532K – $1.4M including a $25K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 37/100.
- System contracting at -14.8% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Super Magnificent Coffee Company Ireland Limited
- Parent company
- Super Magnificent Coffee Company Pte Ltd.
- Ultimate parent
- Jollibee Worldwide Pte Ltd.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jose Miñana, Jr.
- Incorporated in
- Ireland
- HQ
- 550 S. Hope St, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, CA 90071
- Auditor
- Wu Hoover & Co. LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $30.5M
- vs $35.3M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate specialty coffee and tea retail locations, preparing beverages, managing point-of-sale operations, and handling inventory. Daily operations include staff management, customer service, maintaining equipment, and executing marketing in a protected territory.
- CEO
- Jose Miñana, Jr.
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 9
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $487K | $1.3M |
| Total initial investment | $532K | $1.4M |
Source: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$190K
14.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $532K – $1.4M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $75K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $13K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $2K |
| Training fee | $450 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 177 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $118K→$5.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 179
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.5%
- Company-owned
- 110
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 39%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 6.2%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -10.4%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -14.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Ceased ops
- 2.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
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
Contracting franchise system with active litigation, undisclosed unit economics, and questionable franchisor financial health presents elevated risk for capital-intensive coffee retail investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Fisher v. International Coffee & Tea, LLC (pending class action, filed August 8, 2023) alleges deceptive trade practices regarding sustainability claims in K-Cup advertising. New Amsterdam Coffee & Tea Co., LLC et al. v. International Coffee & Tea, LLC (concluded arbitration) involved claims for misrepresentation, breach of contract, and unfair business practices related to area development agreements.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Wu Hoover & Co. LLP
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 37 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 10.4% YoY (179 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02HIGHMultiple active litigation cases involving deceptive trade practices and misrepresentation — suggests franchisor credibility issues
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — prevents accurate ROI analysis and may indicate poor franchisee profitability
- 04MINORInvestment range of $531K–$1.43M carries high capital burden relative to average revenue of $1.31M with unknown net margins
- 05MINOR5.5% royalty on gross revenues (not net) combined with declining unit economics suggests margin compression
- 06HIGHNo 'Going Concern' status is false — indicates potential franchisor financial stability concerns
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Fisher v. International Coffee & Tea, LLC (pending class action, filed August 8, 2023) alleges deceptive trade practices regarding sustainability claims in K-Cup advertising. New Amsterdam Coffee & Tea Co., LLC et al. v. International Coffee & Tea, LLC (concluded arbitration) involved claims for misrepresentation, breach of contract, and unfair business practices related to area development agreements.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
132 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise?
The total investment to open a The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise ranges from $532K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (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 The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has 179 total units in the United States, including 23 franchised units and 110 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 37 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.