The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise takes $194,650 – $395,250 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $133,750 – $163,750. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 7% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. To qualify, The Spice & Tea Exchange asks for $60,000 in liquid cash and a $200,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $133,750 | $163,750 | $133,750 to $163,750 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $194,650 | $395,250 | $194,650 to $395,250 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $194,650 | $395,250 | $194,650 to $395,250 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 7% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full The Spice & Tea Exchange cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How The Spice & Tea Exchange's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where The Spice & Tea Exchange's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $194,650 — about 31% below the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $133,750 — about 3.8× the Food & Beverage median of $35,000.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
Free info kit — costs, fees, and unit track record. You choose who may follow up.
Figures look outdated? Report outdated info.
How The Spice & Tea Exchange's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 21 units; 71 units opened, 16 closed, ending at 86 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for The Spice & Tea Exchange or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask The Spice & Tea Exchange for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether The Spice & Tea Exchange is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether The Spice & Tea Exchange grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only The Spice & Tea Exchange can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise
The Spice & Tea Exchange is a food & beverage franchisor with 86 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 21 units; its filings record 71 unit openings and 16 closures, ending at 86 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is The Spice & Tea Exchange Franchising, LLC. The filings indicate financing options are available; terms come from the franchisor, not from us.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
THE SPICE & TEA EXCHANGE stores are retail stores that sell spices, herbs, teas, spice blends, rubs, olive oil, and related products and accessories we may designate or approve (each, a "Store"). The franchises offered are for the development and operation of a Unit Franchise or an Area Development Business. Unit Franchises operate individual Stores. Area Development franchises develop and operate multiple Stores.
The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise: quick answers
- How much does The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise cost?
- $194,650 – $395,250 all-in to open, per The Spice & Tea Exchange's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many The Spice & Tea Exchange units are there?
- 86 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have The Spice & Tea Exchange's units held up?
- 91.5% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).