The Spice & Tea Exchange Franchise Failure Rate
SBA 7(a) loan default data, FY2010–FY2019 · Updated 2026
The Spice & Tea Exchange franchisees defaulted on 5.9% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 1 of 17 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is lower than the All Other Specialty Food Stores industry average of 10.2%.
- 5.9%SBA default rate, small sample1 of 17 loans
- 17loans resolvedapproved FY2010–FY2019
- 10.2%All Other Specialty Food Stores averageall SBA loans in the industry
- 2nd lowestindustry rankof 3 All Other Specialty Food Stores brands
| SBA default rate | 5.9% (small sample) |
|---|---|
| Loans approved | 17 |
| Loans charged off | 1 |
| Date range | FY2010–FY2019 |
| Industry | All Other Specialty Food Stores |
| Industry average | 10.2% |
| Data source | U.S. SBA 7(a) FOIA loan data |
Most SBA default figures published online use loans approved since 2020 — loans that have had six years or less to fail — so those rates are floors, not outcomes. Every rate on this site is computed from the matured FY2010–FY2019 cohort: loans that have been paid in full or charged off, so the result is settled. Loans approved since 2020 are shown as counts so early charge-offs are visible without being mistaken for a rate.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
1 of 17 The Spice & Tea Exchange SBA borrowers failed to repay — too few loans to call a rate; read it as a flag, not a verdict.
What is the The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
The Spice & Tea Exchange is a All Other Specialty Food Stores franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to The Spice & Tea Exchange franchisees: 17 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 1 was charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY201917
- Charged off1
- Charge-off rate (small sample)5.9%
- All Other Specialty Food Stores franchise benchmark10.2%
- Brand vs industry0.6x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$190,671
- New SBA loans since 202020
- Early charge-offs since 20200
How does The Spice & Tea Exchange compare with other All Other Specialty Food Stores franchises?
The table sets The Spice & Tea Exchange's charge-off rate beside its All Other Specialty Food Stores peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | The Spice & Tea Exchange | All Other Specialty Food Stores | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 5.9% (small sample) | 10.2% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 17 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 1 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $190,671 | — | — | — |
What has The Spice & Tea Exchange SBA lending looked like since 2020?
Since 2020, The Spice & Tea Exchange franchisees have taken 20 new SBA 7(a) loans. None have charged off to date, though most remain outstanding and unresolved.
Loans approved since 2020, by fiscal year — counts only: 0 have charged off to date and most are still outstanding, so no rate is drawn.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2014 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2017 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2018 | 6 | 1 | 16.7% |
| FY2019 | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2020 | 2 | — | outstanding |
| FY2021 | 4 | — | outstanding |
| FY2022 | 7 | — | outstanding |
| FY2023 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2024 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2025 | 5 | — | outstanding |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
The Spice & Tea Exchange's figure rests on 17 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019. That cohort has matured, so the count is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 17 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every The Spice & Tea Exchange figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Small sample (17 loans). A single default moves this figure substantially.
Is The Spice & Tea Exchange in financial trouble? What the SBA data shows
The Spice & Tea Exchange's SBA 7(a) default rate was 5.9% for loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (1 of 17 loans charged off) — 2nd lowest of 3 All Other Specialty Food Stores brands tracked here. A default rate close to the All Other Specialty Food Stores average of 10.2% is, on its own, neither a warning sign nor a reassurance. With only 17 loans in the sample, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 percentage points, so read it as a flag rather than a verdict.
Frequently asked
- What is The Spice & Tea Exchange's franchise failure rate?
- The Spice & Tea Exchange franchisees defaulted on 5.9% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 1 of 17 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is lower than the All Other Specialty Food Stores industry average of 10.2%.
- How does The Spice & Tea Exchange compare to other All Other Specialty Food Stores franchises?
- The Spice & Tea Exchange's 5.9% SBA default rate is lower than the All Other Specialty Food Stores industry average of 10.2%. See every All Other Specialty Food Stores franchise ranked on the All Other Specialty Food Stores industry page. All Other Specialty Food Stores franchises →
- What does 'SBA default rate' mean?
- An SBA default rate is the share of SBA 7(a) loans, approved FY2010–FY2019 and since resolved (paid in full or charged off), that were charged off — written off after the borrower failed to repay. It is not a measure of unit closures.
Source
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program charge-off data, FY2010–FY2019. Franchise data is matched on the SBA's franchise code / brand name. "Failure rate" here means the share of approved loans (resolved: paid in full or charged off) that were charged off; it is not a measure of unit closures. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Every brand in one table, with percentiles and breakdowns by year, industry and loan size: franchise SBA default rates, all 415 brands.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). The Spice & Tea Exchange franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 5.9% (1 of 17 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/the-spice-and-tea-exchange/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)