Mr Tea Franchise Cost in India: Franchise Model, ROI, Eligibility Criteria & Steps to Apply

Mr Tea is a relatively new and fast-growing café / tea + snack chain in India. The brand offers tea, coffee, milkshakes, snacks, mocktails, waffles and similar light café offerings. It claims strong margins, multiple outlets, and relatively quick payback in many franchise listings.

Franchise Model

Here are the typical features of the Mr Tea franchise model:

• Outlet Format: These are café / kiosk / tea outlet formats. Small footprint shops, high street / malls / busy neighbourhoods. Some offer dine-in, some takeaway / delivery.
• Menu Mix: Tea, coffee, mocktails, milkshakes, snacks etc. Also some locations may have waffles/sandwiches etc depending on size.
• Support from the Brand: The franchisor provides equipment, recipe training, branding, marketing support. Staff is not provided; franchisee needs to hire and train personnel.
• Contract / Duration: Usually franchise agreement has a term; many listings do not clearly mention renewal terms, so that’s a key item to ask.

Investment & Franchise Cost

Below is the summary of what the investment requirement looks like for a Mr Tea franchise, as per publicly available sources:

Cost Component	Typical Amount	What It Covers / Notes
Franchise Fee / Brand Fee	~ ₹5,00,000 + GST	One-time, non-refundable fee, includes the cost of equipment & setup in many versions. But not interior/furnishings in all.
GST on Franchise Fee	~ 18% of the franchise fee in some listings (~₹90,000 if fee is ₹5,00,000)
Interior / Furniture / Civil / Fit-Out	~ ₹2,00,000 (or more, depending on size & finish)
Advance Raw Materials / Initial Inventory	~ ₹60,000 or similar ballpark in some sources
Other Expenditures (licenses, POS, signage, miscellaneous)	~ ₹50,000 in several reports
Total Estimated Initial Investment	~ ₹9,00,000 to ~ ₹10-20 lakh depending on location & whether interior/furnishing cost is included.

So you should expect that getting a Mr Tea outlet up and running will require somewhere between ₹9-10 lakh (modest, small format) to potentially more depending on rent, interiors, location etc.

Revenue, Margins & ROI Expectations

Here’s what you’ll typically see in terms of performance expectations, and what to ask / verify:

• Daily Sales Estimate: Many franchise directories suggest outlets might average ₹8,000 – ₹35,000 per day, depending on location/size.
• Gross / Net Margins: Gross margin (before rent, wages etc) for tea/snacks chains is often good; many sources suggest ~ 40-45% gross margin or more. Net margins will be lower after fixed & variable costs. Mr Tea listings suggest margin in that band.
• Payback / Break-Even Period: Some sources claim fairly fast payback — though exact timeline depends heavily on location, rent, staff cost, costs of raw materials, and how quickly you reach steady footfall. Many listings assume payback within 12-18 months for good locations.

Eligibility Criteria: Who can become a Mr Tea franchisee

Here are what the company (or common in similar franchises) typically look for:

1. Capital & Liquidity: Funds to cover the upfront investment, plus several months of working capital (rent, salaries, raw materials) before the outlet becomes profitable.
2. Location / Site Ownership or Lease: Ability to acquire or lease a suitable site. Preferably in high-footfall locations (marketplaces, malls, busy lanes etc.). Some listings suggest minimum area ~ 100 sq.ft. for small format units.
3. Willing to Follow Brand SOPs: Cleanliness, product quality, recipe consistency, service standards etc.
4. Operational Capability: Even if not experienced in F&B, you (or manager) must be willing to run staff, manage supply, sales, wastage etc.
5. Legal Compliance: All necessary licenses — food safety (FSSAI), trade/shop licenses, GST, etc.
6. Other Soft Skills: Good customer service orientation, ability to manage employees, ability to handle daily operations, proactive good sense of marketing locally.

Steps to Apply for a Mr Tea Franchise

Here’s a step-by-step checklist you might follow to apply and prepare properly:

1. Preliminary Research & Self-Assessment
   • Visit existing Mr Tea outlets in your city or region. Observe footfall, menu, pricing, quality, customer feedback.
   • Estimate rent, lease terms for likely locations.
2. Contact the Franchise Team & Request Franchise Kit
   • Use the official contact email or phone numbers. (See below for contact info.) Ask for the franchise information pack. That should include a detailed breakdown of costs, franchise agreement, sample P&L, required equipment, site criteria etc.
3. Site Shortlisting & Survey
   • Identify a few candidate sites; consider visibility, rent, foot traffic, competition.
   • Send site proposals with photos/lease/rent details to Mr Tea for site approval/survey.
4. Financial Planning
   • Build your model: project revenue (daily sales), cost of goods, staffing, rent, utilities, marketing, etc.
   • Make sure you buffer for slow days / initial ramp-up period.
5. Agreement Negotiation & Legal Review
   • Review franchise agreement with legal counsel. Key things: duration, renewal, termination, any exclusive/non-exclusive rights, royalty / ongoing fees, brand compliance obligations.
6. Sign & Setup
   • Once you sign and pay required fees, proceed with lease/fit-out, purchase equipment, décor, signage etc.
   • Hire staff and train them per brand’s SOPs.
7. Pre-launch & Launch
   • Soft launch to test operations, fix issues. Local marketing (opening offers, promotions) to attract customers.
   • Monitor daily operations, sales & cost closely.
8. Ongoing Operations & Scaling
   • Maintain quality, monitor wastage, manage inventory well.
   • Collect customer feedback.
   • If successful, consider expanding to more outlets, or exploring larger formats.

Risks & Due-Diligence: What to Check Before You Sign

• Ask for actual Audited / Verified P&Ls from existing Mr Tea stores in your city or similar cities to estimate realistic revenues & costs.
• Confirm all recurring fees: sometimes royalty or marketing contributions are not clearly stated; verify whether royalties are flat fee or percentage of sales.
• Understand rental / lease escalation: high rent or frequent increase can skew your model.
• Supply chain and cost of raw materials: practice good sourcing; verify brand’s supply support.
• Hidden costs in fit-out or mandatory furnishings you must buy from franchisor or approved vendors; sometimes cost overruns happen.
• Check exclusivity / competitive prohibition clauses (if any): whether Mr Tea allows other Mr Tea outlets in close proximity.
• Training & support: how much is provided, how long, cost (travel / lodging if needed etc.)

Official Contact Information

Here is what I found from credible sources for Mr Tea franchise enquiries:

• Franchise Contact Emails: info@mrtea.com is listed as a contact for franchise enquiries.
• Phone Numbers: +91 99852 82111, +91 9874563210 are listed in franchise-opportunity portals.
• Address (registered / head office): 38 & 39, Nagarjuna Sagar Road, Keshavapuram Colony, Laxmi Narashima Puram Colony, Hastinapuram, Hyderabad, Telangana 500079.

If you email them, request:

• Franchise kit & application form
• Detailed cost breakup (equipment, interior, raw materials etc.)
• Sample P&L statements from outlets in similar city size
• Agreement draft (term, renewals, royalty)
• Site criteria (minimum area, location type etc.)

Example Estimate: How the Numbers Might Add Up

Here’s a hypothetical case for a Mr Tea outlet in a mid-size city, small format (~100-150 sq.ft.):

Item	Estimate (INR)
Franchise / Brand fee + GST	~ ₹5,90,000 (₹5,00,000 + 18% GST)
Basic equipment (blenders, fridge, deep freezers, fryers etc.)	~ ₹1,50,000
Interior / Furniture / Fit-out etc.	~ ₹2,00,000
Initial raw material & packaging	~ ₹60,000
Miscellaneous (POS, license, signage etc.)	~ ₹50,000
Working capital (rent, staff, utilities for 1-2 months)	~ ₹1,00,000

Total ~ ₹9-10 lakh initial investment. If the outlet averages ₹10,000 per day sales (hypothetical), significant margin after operating costs could be seen, with payback possibly in 12-18 months if traffic & cost control good.

Final Expert Take

Mr Tea seems to be a promising franchise model in the tea + snacks/café sector with moderate investment requirement, robust support (equipment, branding, training), and decent revenue/margin potential if you pick the right location. It ticks many of the boxes: relatively low entry compared to larger café brands, a product line that has high demand, and a model that can scale. However, every franchise has risk — particularly with rent, cost of raw materials, staff cost and maintaining quality.