Tapioca Express vs Van Houtte Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Tapioca Express vs Van Houtte including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Tapioca Express Franchise
Van Houtte Franchise
Investment $200,000 - $420,000$250,000 - $300,000
Franchise Fee $15,000$27,500
Royalty Fee $0.055/cup5%
Advertising Fee --
Year Founded 19991919
Year Franchised 20001983
Term Of Agreement -10 years
Term Of Agreement -10 years
Renewal Fee $3K for 2 years-


Business Experience Requirements
 
Tapioca Express Franchise
Van Houtte Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • Marketing skills
    		• -

    Financing Options
     
    Tapioca Express Franchise
    Van Houtte Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/NoNo/No
    Start-up Costs No/NoNo/No
    Equipment No/NoNo/No
    Inventory No/NoNo/No
    Receivables No/NoNo/No
    Payroll No/NoNo/No

    Training & Support
     
    Tapioca Express Franchise
    Van Houtte Franchise
    Training --
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Grand opening, Internet, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperativesMeetings, Grand opening, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertisingCo-op advertising, Regional advertising
    Operations

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 5

    100% of current franchisees are owner/operators

    		 5% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    Expansion Plans
     
    Tapioca Express Franchise
    Van Houtte Franchise
    US Expansion --
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion YesYes

    Company Overviews

    About Tapioca Express

    Wayne and Stephanie, passionate about their Taiwanese heritage, opened the first Tapioca Express store in the San Gabriel Valley in 1999 �" one of the very first boba chains in the United States. Since the beginning,
    Tapioca Express has harvested the finest ingredients from Taiwan and continually provides quality teas, boba, and snacks. However, we did not foresee that boba’s popularity would manifest into its own culture and become an everyday lifestyle. Today, Tapioca Express expands across California and into other states, including Washington, Texas, and Virginia. In our two decades of experience in brewing, we focus on nurturing and enriching communities with the finest teas, coffee, and boba.
    Tapioca beverage is a various combination of black or green tea, milk, juice, coffee, and small marbles of tapioca (a.k.a. "black pearl" or "boba", made from Tapioca starch, water, corn starch and natural flavors.) It originated in Tai-Chung City (in Taiwan) around 1981, and soon spread across Asia. In the late 90s, it traveled to North America and has quickly become a raging trendy drink on both coasts. It is perceived as a relatively healthier beverage than soft drinks or coffee, and a lot more fun, too.Tapioca Express was the first in North America to offer a wide selection of high quality tapioca beverage adhering to a consistently high professional standard. Since opening its first store in the city of Alhambra (located in the Greater Los Angeles, California),
    Tapioca Express has become synonymous to quality and innovation.

    About Van Houtte

    Albert-Louis Van Houtte, a French immigrant, set up his first grocery store in Montreal in 1919. Van Houtte stocked the store with specialty products from Europe, including coffee. Each day he would roast small batches of coffee in the back of his shop, and soon Van Houtte had built up a reputation in Montreal for selling quality coffee. In the more than 80 years since its founder began roasting European coffees, A.L. Van Houtte Cafe-Bistro has grown beyond Montreal and has expanded its menu. Today, each cafe-bistro serves a variety of coffee and espresso drinks, as well as teas, soups and sandwiches.