From the filings
Software purchasing control at Sharetea-VASharetea sits with HQ leadership, including Chairman/President Kai-Lung Cheng and General Manager Po-Yu, Lai. The most recent FDD (2023) captures no mandated or recommended technology systems, leaving the tech stack largely undefined for vendors. With 124 franchised units and 25.3% year-over-year unit growth, the addressable market is expanding rapidly across key states like California, Texas, and Washington.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
9%of gross sales (FY2023)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
15 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 7 explicit no's; 12 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
The Royalty for the previous month is payable before the 10th of the next month, along with the previous month’s financial statements and related records.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We and our affiliate are also approved suppliers, but we are not the only approved supplier of any product or service.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or rescind any supplier’s approval at any time
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We may also earn rebates, commissions, or other consideration from these suppliers based on your purchases, and we are under no obligation to pass any portion of these payments on to you.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
You may also suggest suppliers, but please note that every supplier must demonstrate, based on our judgment, that it meets all specifications, standards, and requirements and has adequate capacity to supply our franchisees’ quantity and delivery needs, which may mean, among other things, the ability to supply all…
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Immediately cancel, abandon, or transfer (at Franchisor’s election) any telephone number, domain name, social media handle, or similar listing associated with the Sharetea brand or Franchisor.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
We may conduct inspections or audits at our discretion.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
We can change the terms of, and add to, the operations manuals whenever we believe it is appropriate.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
All sites must be approved by us, and must be developed by you in accordance with our requirements.
Marketing
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall spend three percent (3%) of the Gross Monthly Revenues on local advertising (“Local Advertising Expenditure”).
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must purchase all equipment, food, supplies, and materials solely from suppliers that Franchisor approves or designates.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must purchase all equipment, food, supplies, and materials solely from suppliers that Franchisor approves or designates.
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
All front-of-house personnel, and such other personnel as Franchisor may designate, shall wear Sharetea-approved uniforms.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
We require you to process and record all of your sales on a point of sale/back office system (“POS System”) that is approved by us.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
You must also pay for later training programs that we may conduct or require.
Who buys here
The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.
HQ leadership: CEO/President + VP Ops/Franchise + a first dedicated IT/systems owner.
Sharetea-VASharetea operates 124 quick-service restaurant locations, all franchised, with no company-owned units disclosed in the 2023 FDD. The brand grew unit count by 25.3% year-over-year, adding roughly 25 net new locations in the most recent period. This expansion trajectory creates a moving target for software vendors: a growing base of franchisees who may need POS, payroll, inventory, scheduling, or compliance tools, with no existing mandated stack to displace.
The franchise is part of Lian Fa International Dining Business Corporation, the parent company. Operators are entirely single-unit: 117 mapped operators run 117 located units, with zero multi-unit operators in the 2–9, 10–24, or 25+ bands. This fragmented ownership structure means any software sale must appeal to individual franchisees, though HQ-level endorsement or mandate would streamline adoption. Top states by unit count are California (46), Texas (20), Washington (17), Oregon (5), and Virginia (3).
Decision-making authority rests at the headquarters level. The 2023 FDD Item 1 lists Kai-Lung Cheng as Chairman and President, Po-Yu, Lai as General Manager, and Ning-Juan Liao as Director of Overseas Development and Secretary. For a software vendor, the General Manager and President are the most likely entry points for operational or enterprise technology discussions. No dedicated CIO, CTO, or VP of IT is named, which is consistent with a brand of this size and segment.
Because all 124 units are franchised and no multi-unit operators exist, individual franchisees likely have some autonomy over in-store technology choices unless HQ imposes a standard. The absence of any mandated tech in the FDD suggests the current environment is permissive, but a vendor pitch should still target HQ to secure a preferred or mandated status that would cascade across the system.
The 2023 FDD contains no mandated or recommended technology systems. No POS provider, back-office platform, payroll vendor, or inventory management tool is named. This is a blank-slate signal for software vendors: there is no incumbent to unseat at the franchisor level, and franchisees may be using a patchwork of solutions.
Vendors should approach with a clear ROI narrative tailored to quick-service beverage concepts. Emphasize ease of deployment across 124 single-unit operators, integration with delivery aggregators if relevant, and labor scheduling for small-footprint stores. Without a tech mandate, the burden is on the vendor to prove value directly to HQ, who can then recommend or require adoption.
Procurement signals are absent from the 2023 FDD. Item 8, which typically outlines designated suppliers, approved supplier programs, or purchasing cooperatives, yielded no extract. This means the franchisor does not publicly disclose whether franchisees must buy from specific vendors, may choose from an approved list, or have open purchasing discretion. Vendors should clarify this early in conversations with HQ.
Franchise agreements run for an initial term of 3 years. Renewal is possible for 2 additional years, but the FDD warns that renewal terms may be materially different from the original agreement. This relatively short initial term and the renewal caveat create periodic reevaluation points where technology standards could be introduced or changed. With 25% unit growth, new franchisees are signing agreements continuously, offering a steady stream of greenfield deployment opportunities.
The Franchise Disclosure Document is the definitive source for understanding a franchise system’s requirements, restrictions, and decision-makers. For Sharetea-VASharetea, the 2023 FDD confirms 124 franchised units, a 6.0% royalty rate, 3-year initial terms, and the HQ leadership team. It also reveals what is not there: no tech mandates, no procurement model disclosure, and no multi-unit operators.
Review Item 1 for executive contacts, Item 8 for any future procurement restrictions, Item 11 for any eventual technology requirements, and Item 17 for renewal conditions. The embedded viewer below provides the full document. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help prioritize your outreach.
Questions vendors ask
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Sharetea-VASharetea files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
101 operators run 117 mapped locations. 15 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| CA | 46 |
|---|---|
| TX | 20 |
| WA | 17 |
| OR | 5 |
| VA | 3 |
Ownership
single_brand_holdco of Sharetea.
Sibling brands
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.