Tapioca Express vs Cargo & James Tea Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Tapioca Express Franchise
Cargo & James Tea Franchise
Investment $200,000 - $420,000$100,000 - $250,000
Franchise Fee $15,000$25,000
Royalty Fee $0.055/cup7%
Advertising Fee --
Year Founded 19992001
Year Franchised 20002006
Term Of Agreement --
Term Of Agreement --
Renewal Fee $3K for 2 years-


Business Experience Requirements
 
Tapioca Express Franchise
Cargo & James Tea Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • Marketing skills
    		• -

    Financing Options
     
    Tapioca Express Franchise
    Cargo & James Tea 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
    Cargo & James Tea Franchise
    Training --
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Grand opening, Internet, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives-
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertising-
    Operations

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 5

    100% of current franchisees are owner/operators

    		-

    Expansion Plans
     
    Tapioca Express Franchise
    Cargo & James Tea Franchise
    US Expansion --
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion YesNo

    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 Cargo & James Tea

    Cargo & James Tea has pioneered the specialty tea cafe business concept and knows the time is right to capitalize on increased tea consumption across Canada and the U.S., in a caf� setting. Cargo & James is truly revolutionizing the way we drink tea. With a trendy atmosphere and inviting feel to the caf�, stepping into a Cargo & James breaks the stereotype that tea is old. The tea industry is expected to exceed $10 Billion in sales by 2010 according to the Sage Report, �Tea is Hot�.