#Tea Monkey Launches Franchise Opportunity

The UK’s first high street tea chain, Tea Monkey launches its highly anticipated franchise business. The award-winning brand is now offering franchisees a key role in the development of Tea Monkey, as it rolls out its funky tea cafés across the UK.

Tracey Bovingdon set up Tea Monkey back in 2011 to serve a high quality and extensive range of teas in a modern environment. It now serves over 40 types of loose tea and an extensive range of pyramid tea sacks and wellness teas. They also serve award-winning coffee and hot chocolate and a selection of fresh foods, all prepared on site.

Bovingdon commented: “As a nation of tea drinkers and somebody who loves tea I wanted to create an ethical brand of cafés to quench the British thirst for a new way to enjoy tea. The community aspect of drinking tea is of particular importance to Tea Monkey, so as well as running several flagship stores we’ve now launched the franchise arm of the business. We are aiming to launch six to 12 franchises over the next year in five major cities across the UK.”

The launch of the franchise division marks the next step in the company’s development as it aims to become the largest chain of tea cafés in the UK and overseas within the next five years.

There is a range of franchise entry levels on offer, dependent on investment with members of the Tea Monkey group being given full support and training, as well as national marketing and PR. They will also have access to Tea Monkey’s state of the art on-line ordering, stock and staff rota software. Tea Monkey cafés are welcoming to all and have a contemporary feel, with iPads on the wall and free wi-fi in every store.

Tea Monkey is an award-winning chain and was recognised in 2011 as the Best UK Tea Cafe by the Beverage Standards Association. In the last year, the stores won the Best Tea Experience at the Grab and Go Awards (sponsored by the Rainforest Alliance) and received a 5 Cup Award at the Beverage Standards Awards 2012. Tea Monkey was one of five outlets that won the ‘Five Cup’ accreditation, the maximum available at the awards.