The Spice & Tea ExchangeFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise requires a total initial investment of $299K – $532K, including a $39K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $543K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 5.6% charge-off rate across 41 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $299K – $532K
- 4th pct Food Retail
- Avg gross sales
- $543K
- 0th pct Food Retail
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 94
- 2nd pct Food Retail
- SBA default
- 5.6%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Food Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Food Retail 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
Franchised units fell from 93 to 86 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $299K – $532K including a $39K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $543K/year (median $487K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 28/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 5.6% across 41 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- The Spice & Tea Exchange Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- The Spice & Tea Exchange Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- Old Spice Traders
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- CEO
- Amy Parnell Freeman
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 210 Marshall Circle, St. Augustine, FL 32086
- Auditor
- Tama, Budaj & Raab, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.1M
- vs $4.2M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
- Franchisee Advisory Board
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- and predecessor
- Old Spice Traders
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate retail storefronts selling premium loose-leaf teas, spices, and related accessories. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, customer service, product curation, and local marketing. Most locations are in malls or lifestyle centers targeting gift-buyers and specialty food enthusiasts.
- CEO
- Amy Parnell Freeman
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2008
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 37
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee - Single Unitnot refundable | $39K | $39K | |
| Establishment Feenot refundable | $135K | $150K | |
| Seasonal Inventory Ordernot refundable | $2K | $20K | |
| Construction/Build-Out, Tea Bar Equipment, and Other Dress-Out | $104K | $238K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $3K | $5K | |
| Professional Fees | $500 | $4K | |
| Utility Deposits | $250 | $500 | |
| Office Equipment | $350 | $4K | |
| Rent and Security Deposits | $2K | $10K | |
| Insurance (premium for first year) | $1K | $4K | |
| State and Local Business Licenses, Permits and Filing Fees | $500 | $4K | |
| Training Expenses | $2K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds - 6 months | $10K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $299K | $532K |
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.
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
$43K
8.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
10%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
10.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $299K – $532K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $39K – $39K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- greater of 7% of Gross Sales or $1,750
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | greater of 7% of Gross Sales or $1,750 |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $543K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $487K
- Item 19 type
- Full Year Units
- Sample size
- 84 units
- vs category median 44
- Range (low → high)
- $65K→$2.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 0 / 5 · above
Compared against 216 Food Retail brands
vs Food Retail averages
How The Spice & Tea Exchange Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 94
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Turnover rate
- 4.3%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 6.2%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +4.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +8.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Transfer rate
- 3.2%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 1.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 41
- Loan volume
- $8.6M
- Median loan
- $232K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 5.6%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 94.4%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 18
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into The Spice & Tea Exchange's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 12-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Specialty tea and spice retailer with adequate revenue but undisclosed profitability, minimal unit growth, and high fixed royalty minimums creates moderate-to-caution risk profile dependent on location quality.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $193,750
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Tama, Budaj & Raab, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 28 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — impossible to assess actual profitability despite $542,747 average revenue
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of only 4.5% YoY with 94 total units suggests mature/stalling system in specialty retail
- 03MINORHigh royalty floor of $1,750/month ($21,000/year) creates cash drain risk for underperforming locations
- 04MEDTotal investment range ($298k-$532k) is substantial for a specialty food retail concept with no disclosed profit benchmarks
- 05MINORFranchise fee of $38,750 is steep relative to transparent earnings data — suggests reliance on franchise fees vs. franchisee success
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 4 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 3 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 71 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- TSTE® point-of-sale system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: TSTE® point-of-sale system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
15 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Spice & Tea Exchange · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise?
The total investment to open a The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise ranges from $299K – $532K, with an initial franchise fee of $39K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Spice & Tea Exchange FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $543K. The median is $487K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is The Spice & Tea Exchange's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, The Spice & Tea Exchange has a charge-off rate of 5.6% across 41 loans, meaning 5.6% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Spice & Tea Exchange has 94 total units in the United States, including 93 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Spice & Tea Exchange a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Spice & Tea Exchange as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 28 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.