The food and beverage industry has been one of the most successful sectors characterized by a great number of products that meet the needs of the consumers. In this massive industry, the tea segment is accorded a unique position because of the prominence of this drink around the globe.
Not only for the refreshing taste, for the many rumored health benefits it provides, or for the many social practices accompanying it, tea has remained one of the most consumed beverages in the entire world. Accordingly, there has been consumers’ increased interest in quality teas, and therefore with such consumption trends, there is an increasing market for snacks, pastries, and other closely related products of the foodservice sector.
Tea Time, a famous and popular tea café service provider, has been able to cover this area and segment effectively and enhance the base for a profitable franchise business model. This brand has also established a distinct position within the tea market by catering to a wide variety of quality teas, snacks and biscuits together with an ambient atmosphere.
Tea Time not only provides a pleasant tea-drinking experience for tea enthusiasts but also aims to provide a group focus space for groups and individuals as well as serve their tea beverages. Being the extension of popular tea cafes, Tea Time offers a far-reaching franchise opportunity for people to venture into the expanding tea market.
The menu has received wide recognition thanks to extensive brand recognition that backed this model; therefore, a high-quality menu and a business structure perfect for scale and economic success. Tea Time is a Canadian franchise that can be of interest to aspiring businessmen and women who would like to take advantage of the increasing popularity of café culture and higher demand for premium teas and lighter meals.
In this article, we will take our readers deeper into the Tea Time franchise cost that are incurred when one wants to invest in a Tea Time franchise. Therefore, in this guide, we want to help you determine if it makes sense to open a Tea Time franchise, starting with the initial fee which serves as the first step to franchising. This guide will provide you with all the financial details for you to make the right decision for your next business opportunity in the vibrant tea market.
What is Tea Time Franchise?
Tea Time is a chain of tea café that provide good quality tea, snacks, and baked-in products in the United Kingdom. The brand is famous for its quality, comfort, educational programs, outstanding tea selection, and highly professional staff, focusing on consumers’ need for the tea-drinking experience.
Tea Time franchise system refers to when a competent person wants to open a Tea Time outlet and run it under the company’s brand name where he or she would enjoy the various services and products offered by Tea Time including the different menus, support systems and marketing tools. The franchisee has the advantage of having the brand and the steadily increasing culture of tea drinking particularly with the new focus on quality teas together with nice snacks.
Why Choose a Tea Time Franchise?
But let us address what franchise costs are before ultimately focusing on why starting a Tea Time franchise could be one of the most financially rewarding business opportunities to pursue. Here are several reasons why this opportunity is special for upcoming business persons in the food and beverages sector.
High Demand for Tea
There is no better-known drink than tea, popular among adults and children, men and women of different origins. It is a beverage that can be taken hot or iced and can be taken in different flavours, sweetened and augmented in many ways to please different palates.
Besides flexibility, it is also acknowledged for its qualities, such as antioxidant features, its influences on digestion, and its is to reduce stress. Due to the growing concern for health and healthy living standards, customers seek healthy tea products, and so the tea industry is a permanent product with high sales.
Growing Café Culture
The trend-setting element of taking café has now become a common phenomenon in urban and suburban centers. This has made human beings look for places they can relax, interact or even do their business while taking tea with a bite.
Tea Time fits the bill for this increasing need by providing a comfortable and warm venue where clients can enjoy a wide selection of teas and other related products for snacking. This change of trend allows franchisees to fill the market gap in casual dining offers where cafés are commonly visited by people.
Brand Recognition
Arguably the biggest benefit of becoming franchisees of Tea Time is that clients recognize them as the franchisors do. It is an added advantage because as a franchisee, you will not have to work so hard on creating the brand image from the ground.
Tea Time is already enjoying the patronage of people and is well-known for its good tea and superb customer satisfaction. This means you have a chance of starting a business in a market that has already been created and customers who are already familiar with the brand.
Comprehensive Support
The other important advantage of Tea Time franchise ownership is that they are supported fully by the franchisor company. The full and comprehensive briefing is provided to the franchisee in aspects such as product information, customer relations, stocks, and promotional plans among others.
Also, Tea Time provides operational support of continuing consultation for franchisees during their daily operations in addition to supply chain support. It also greatly decreases the time that new franchisees receive to master the business environment and assists them overcome all problems easily.
This makes the Tea Time franchise a perfect business opportunity in the Food and beverage industries particularly of the high demand for tea, Café business, brand appeal and support services offered.
Tea Time Franchise Cost Breakdown

1. Franchise Fee
The franchise fee is the amount of money that the franchisee pays the franchisor for the license to use the Tea Time company name and business formula. This fee generally includes the price of the contract, training, and early assistance signing up for the franchise.
Average Franchise Fee: The cost involved in obtaining the franchise to set up a Tea Time is between ₹2 to ₹4 lakhs (this varies concerning location and format). This is a one-time cost that broadens the usage of the brand name, and logo and includes operational support.
2. Security Deposit
A lot of franchise concepts demand a security deposit, as does Tea Time. This amount is normally recoverable when the franchise agreement expires as long as there are no balances or disputes.
Average Security Deposit: This depends on the size of the facility and the geographical area and can cost anything from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh.
3. Interior Setup and Design
This factor deals with the appearance and construction of the store or outlet to create the right customer feeling. As Tea Time outlets are planned, their main concept is that of comfort and attraction. The interior design must also meet the brand standard, therefore, franchisees’ restaurants must conform to the prescribed specifications.
Interior Setup Cost: Currently the cost of interior setup may reach from 4 to 8 lakh INR depending on the size of the outlet. This also comprises furniture, decoration and other necessities required in designing the home to make it comfortable.
4. Equipment Costs
Necessary equipment held in operating a Tea Time franchise is enumerated to maintain a very good flow of transactions. These facilities may comprise tea–brewing machines, refrigeration systems, display fridges as well as counters, kitchen utensils for preparing drinks and snacks, bread-making machines, ovens etc.
Estimated Equipment Costs: They can occupy an area of between ₹3 lakh to ₹6 lakh depending on the type and size of the store format.
5. Raw Materials and Inventory
Opening a Tea Time franchise requires procuring a range of products to be prepared and sold, including different types of teas, a selection of snacks, ingredients for some kinds of pastry, and beverages. The cost of the inventory will significantly vary depending on the size of the store or the number of products it stocks.
Estimated Initial Inventory: To ensure that you have replenished your stock on the materials you need to begin operation, you should expect to spend about ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh in your first few months of operation.
6. Royalty Fees
Franchisees have to pay royalty fees for the services since it is also a continuing cost to be incurred. The royalty fee is a percentage of the target sales that attract the franchisee and assists the parent company in marketing its products and maintaining the brand.
Royalty Fees: The probable range of payment of royalty fee is between 5 % – 8 % of sales that the franchisee performs monthly within Tea Time.
7. Marketing Fees
To push the Tea Time brand and guarantee constant traffic to the outlet, franchisees have to set aside local marketing expenses. This could be in the form of marketing posts on social media platforms, coupons, sale celebrations and all other kinds of adverts.
Marketing Fund Contribution: Some may require franchisees to pay the amount of money equating to about 2-3 percent of their monthly sales to a central marketing pool.
8. Working Capital
Working capital means the amount of money needed to source the everyday working capital including salaries for employees, bills for utilities, rent and other regular overheads and the replenishment of products on the inventory list. This depends on the location and size of exposure to the trade.
Estimated Working Capital: Working capital of ₹200,000 to ₹400,000 is generally expected and appropriate for the first few months of its operation.
Total Estimated Investment
Considering all the costs involved, the total investment to open a Tea Time franchise can range between ₹15 lakh to ₹30 lakh, depending on factors such as location, store size, and format (kiosk or café). Here is a rough breakdown:
- Franchise Fee: ₹2 to ₹4 lakh
- Security Deposit: ₹1 to ₹2 lakh
- Interior Setup and Design: ₹4 to ₹8 lakh
- Equipment Costs: ₹3 to ₹6 lakh
- Raw Materials and Inventory: ₹1 to ₹2 lakh
- Royalty Fees: 5% to 8% of monthly sales
- Marketing Fees: 2% to 3% of monthly sales
- Working Capital: ₹2 to ₹4 lakh
Profitability and Return on Investment (ROI)
The Tea Time franchise idea can be categorized as a low-cost business model since the operating expenses are low, coupled with relatively high operating profit margins; and the augmented Indian population’s interest in tea products. Here’s a detailed analysis of profitability and return on investment (ROI):
1. Profitability Analysis
Revenue Streams:
A Tea Time outlet generates revenue primarily through:
- Tea Sales: Tea is a daily beverage and, therefore consumers always need it, which helps stimulate its consumption.
- Milkshakes, Coolers, and Snacks: These increase the number of food items and improve the average order value to customers.
- Seasonal and Specialty Items: Temporarily increased prices, new special goods and services can increase sales considerably.
Profit Margins:
- Tea and beverage sales on the other hand give margins of between 40% and 80% depending on the product for sale.
- Other key product segments that also maintain sound margins include snacking products as well as light food items because the raw materials for their production are cheap.
- A final cut in expenses comes from buying ingredients in large quantities, which enhances the restaurant-making, and profitability.
Operating Costs:
Operating costs for a Tea Time outlet are relatively low:
- Rent: Ideally a small area is expected (100-200 sq ft) in terms of rental thus giving relatively cheap rents.
- Staff Salaries: A small number of employees is required resulting in low employee expenses.
- Utilities: Utility costs comprise both electricity and water which are reasonable because of the type of enterprise.
2. Return on Investment (ROI)
Break-Even Point:
This is mainly because most of the Tea Time franchisees claim to hit the breakeven in 5 to 10 months depending on the location of the business and the level of sales.
Monthly Revenue Potential:
The average monthly turnover can vary from ₹1 lakh to ₹2.5 lakhs depending on the location, number of customers, and prices for products offered.
Net Profit:
Operation costs involve costs such as rent, wages, electricity, and royalty, these have, therefore, average net profit per month ranging from ₹30,000/- to ₹70,000/-.
Superiority in sales can be in certain traffic density zones or by advertising encouragements.
ROI Timeline:
ROI usually takes twelve to eighteen months, which makes its prospects good for small and middle investors.
Menu and Product Offerings of Tea Time

Tea Time franchise provides its array of products that can be interesting for different customers. They were offering teas; coolers, milky products and luxurious snacks. Here’s a detailed look at their product offerings:
1. Tea Varieties
Tea Time’s core offering is its wide range of teas, catering to both traditional and modern tastes:
Classic Teas:
- Regular Chai
- Masala Chai
- Ginger Chai
- Cardamom (Elaichi) Chai
- Sulaimani Tea
Specialty Teas:
- Lemon Tea
- Green Tea
- Black Tea
- Herbal Tea
- Kashmiri Kahwa
Flavored Teas:
- Chocolate Tea
- Rose Tea
- Tulsi Tea
2. Milk-Based Beverages
These creamy and rich beverages are popular with all age groups:
- Badam Milk
- Kesar Milk
- Turmeric Milk
- Rose Milk
3. Coolers and Refreshing Drinks
Perfect for summer or customers seeking cold beverages:
- Lemon Cooler
- Watermelon Cooler
- Blueberry Cooler
- Strawberry Cooler
4. Milkshakes
A range of thick and creamy milkshakes in various flavors:
- Chocolate Milkshake
- Vanilla Milkshake
- Mango Milkshake
- Butterscotch Milkshake
- Oreo Milkshake
5. Snacks and Light Bites
Tea Time pairs its beverages with a selection of snacks that complement its offerings:
- Samosas
- Puffs (Veg, Egg, Chicken)
- Cardinal sandwiches include grilled, veg, egg, and cheese meals.
- Cookies and Biscuits
- Burgers
6. Desserts and Sweet Treats
- Cupcakes
- Brownies
- Muffins
- Pastries
Key Features of the Menu:
- Affordability: Tea Time’s priority is to ensure that all the products it sells are affordable to the intended customers.
- Customizable Options: Customers can order changes in terms of sweetness, spiciness or additional flavors.
- Health-Conscious Choices: Locally made combined traditional tea and light meals for the health conscious consumers such as green tea, herbal tea among others are served.
With a diversified offer of meals, tea café offers a constant return and people of different ages and different preferences go to Tea Time again and again becoming one of the leaders in the busy tea café market.
Conclusion
Investing in the franchise of Tea Time is very viable for people who want to start a business in the food and beverages sectors. Tea Time has the right business concept because it already enjoys brand recall, menu versatility and a well-refined business model. You get a full training program, operational, and a strong backup plan to market their outlets so that you can properly manage the outlets.
The business model focuses on the high profit margins and guaranteed fast money return which everybody loves thus making it attractive to even the most experienced businesspersons. Tea Time products have good quality beverages, the right locations and good prices that would ensure there are always customers and future perceived growth.
When joining a franchise, the parties can benefit from the desire for tea and other related products that are growing in the Indian market. When you invest in Tea Time, you’re not merely establishing a business, but you belong to a team vested in providing service, quality, and customer happiness across the Philippines.
FAQs
1. How much will it cost to open a Tea Time franchise?
The total initial investment is to the tune of ₹5 lakhs only. This amount includes the actual cost of the franchise, equipment and facilities, initial stocks and other incidental expenses.
2. What is the cost of the franchise fee?
The franchise fee can be approximately between ₹50000 to ₹100000 based on factors like the place of the store as well as how big the store is.
3. Are there any royalty fees?
Yes, franchisees need to pay a royalty of 3% of the gross sale of business done every month but the maximum amount to be paid is ₹9000 per month.
4. What is the space and location specification a Tea Time outlet should have?
Signed in areas that have massive traffic such as near bus stands, railway stations, hospitals, markets or schools, colleges etc The minimum area required should be 100 to 200 sqft.
5. What do people expect to earn in terms of profit margin for a Tea Time franchise?
This varies from 40% to 80%, although this depends on such factors as area of establishment, number of sales, and level of productivity.
6. What is your break even period on your initial capital?
It takes an average of 5-10 months to recover their cost but it depends on the location and performance of the business.
7. What kind of support does Tea Time continue offering to the franchisees?
Web support provided by Tea Time means help in the choice of the place, stock equipment issued in the start-up package, help in the creation of the menu, cooperation in further work and training of the managers, and constant fundamental research.
8. What other fees do the franchise owners incur apart from the fee charged for franchising?
Additional expenses are interior work, furniture and equipment, initial stock, licenses and permits, and working capital.
9. Is prior experience important especially in the food and beverage industry a prerequisite to opening a Tea Time franchise?
However, experience is advantageous, but not necessary. To avoid making mistakes in the operation of the outlet, Tea Time offers its franchisees and their staff to undergo special training.
10. What do I need to do to be franchised for Tea Time?
To participate, interested people may go to the Tea Time website and complete the franchise application form. After the application has been received, the Tea Time team will study it and proceed to contact the shortlisted persons for an interview.