Tapioca Express franchise
2025 filing · September 18, 2025Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Tapioca Express at a glance
A bubble tea cafe serving milk teas, fruit teas, smoothies and snacks. At the end of 2025 there were 15 Tapioca Express locations in the US, 13 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Tapioca Express, Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2002
- 23 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- South El Monte, California
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $250K–$509K
- Traditional cafe
- Franchise fee
- $30,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 4%
- 4% of gross sales, paid monthly
- Brand fund
- 1.5%
- 1.5% of gross sales, paid monthly
- Renewal fee
- $3,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 5 years
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 15
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 13
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 1 years
- −12
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 2
- Most in California and Washington
From Tapioca Express, Inc’s 2025 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 106; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Tapioca Express among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Tapioca Express | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $379,550 | Costs more than 52% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $30,000 | Lower than 72% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 4% | Lower than 93% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 15 | Fewer than 55% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $713,236 | Lower than 55% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.9× | Higher than 61% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Tapioca Express franchise costs
Opening Traditional cafe costs an estimated $250,000 to $509,100. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are furniture, fixtures and equipment ($65,000 to $164,200) and construction and leasehold improvements ($80,000 to $150,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30,000 | ||
| Deposit | $10,000 | ||
| Tea Machine Package | $2,400 | $3,000 | |
| Initial Marketing Fee | $6,000 | ||
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $80,000 | $150,000 | |
| Lease Deposits and Rent – Three Months | $9,000 | $36,000 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $65,000 | $164,200 | |
| Signage | $8,000 | $12,000 | |
| Computer, Software, and Point of Sale System | $1,100 | $4,400 | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $1,000 | $5,000 | |
| Initial Inventory | $10,000 | $20,000 | |
| Utility Deposits | $1,000 | $4,500 | |
| Insurance Deposits – Three Months | $500 | $1,000 | |
| Travel for Initial Training | $3,000 | $24,000 | |
| Professional Fees | $2,000 | $6,000 | |
| General Licenses and Permits | $1,000 | $3,000 | |
| Additional Funds – Three Months | $20,000 | $30,000 | |
| Total | $250,000 | $509,100 | |
Source: Tapioca Express, Inc, 2025 filing, page 16
Tapioca Express franchise fee
The franchise fee is $30,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Tapioca Express, Inc, 2025 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4% of gross sales, paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1.5% of gross sales, paid monthly. |
| Technology | Up to $500 per month, currently not assessed |
| Renewal | $3,000 |
| Franchisee Directed Local Marketing | 0.5% of Gross Sales or $100, whichever is greater |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Tapioca Express, Inc, 2025 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 12–14. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Tapioca Express publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $713,236
Yearly figures for fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, covering franchised outlets open the whole fiscal year (15 locations). The filing gives an average for each half rather than one overall figure; this is the overall average worked out from those and each one's number of locations. The average is about 1.9 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Tapioca Express, Inc, 2025 filing, pages 51–54
SBA loans to Tapioca Express franchisees
Lenders approved 3 SBA-backed loans for Tapioca Express franchisees from 2007 to 2012, $799K in all: 1 7(a) loan and 2 504 loans. All 3 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Tapioca Express compares
Of the 56 bubble tea franchises on this site, Tapioca Express is the 27th cheapest to open and the 14th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Tapioca Express | Typical bubble tea brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $250K | $264K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $509K | $502K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $30K | $40K | $40K |
| Royalty | 4% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1.5% | 1% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $713K | – | $794K |
| US locations | 15 | 8 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 26.1% | 0% | – |
| Change in franchised locations, 1 yrs | −48% | +100% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 19 of 56 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 56 brands in bubble tea franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 23 (−2) | 2 | – | – |
| 2024 | 17 (−6) | 2 | 0 | −6 |
| 2025 | 13 (−4) | 2 | – | – |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Source: Tapioca Express, Inc, 2025 filing, page 55
Where Tapioca Express locations are
At the end of 2025, Tapioca Express had franchised locations in 2 states. The most are in California and Washington.
- California14
- Washington1
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| California | 14 |
| Washington | 1 |
Source: Tapioca Express, Inc, 2025 filing, page 56
Who owns Tapioca Express?
Tapioca Express franchises are sold by Tapioca Express, Inc. Its filing names no parent company.
From Tapioca Express, Inc’s 2025 filing, page 8.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Tapioca Express, Inc, 2025 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Tapioca Express filings
The figures on this page come from Tapioca Express, Inc’s 2025 filing, issued September 18, 2025, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | September 18, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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