Does Afuri Ramen Dumpling license approved suppliers, and if so, what are the conditions?

Subject to your obligation to purchase goods and services from certain exclusively designated suppliers, with advance written notice you may request our approval to obtain products, equipment, supplies or materials from sources that we have not previously approved. We may require you to give us sufficient information, photographs, drawings, samples, and other data to allow us to determine whether the items from these other sources meet our specifications and standards, as established from time to time. These specifications and standards will relate to quality, taste, durability, value, cleanliness, texture, composition, strength, finish and appearance, and the suppliers' capacity and facility to supply your needs in the quantities, at the times, and with the reliability necessary for efficient operation. We may require that samples from any supplier be delivered to a designated independent testing laboratory for testing before approval and use. You will reimburse us for the actual cost of the tests. We will license any supplier that can meet or exceed our quality control requirements and standards, for a reasonable license fee, to produce and deliver products to you but to no other person. Our confidential recipes, ingredients, requirements, designs, systems and formulas will be revealed to potential suppliers only after we have received reasonable evidence that the proposed supplier is trustworthy and reputable; has the capacity to consistently follow our standards, requirements and testing procedures; will maintain the confidentiality of the designs, systems, formulas, ingredients and recipes; and will adequately supply your reasonable needs. We will not unreasonably withhold approval of a supplier you propose (unless we have previously designated a single supplier or exclusive suppliers for certain products or services). We will endeavor in good faith to notify you in writing of the approval or disapproval of any supplier you propose within 30 days of our receipt from you of your written notice of request for approval.

We or our agents may inspect any approved manufacturer, supplier or distributor facilities and products to assure proper production, processing, packaging, storing, and transportation. Permission for inspection will be a condition of our continued approval of any manufacturer, supplier or distributor. If we find from any inspection that a manufacturer, supplier or distributor fails to meet our specifications and standards, we will give written notice describing this failure to you and to the manufacturer, supplier or distributor, with a notice that unless the failure or deficiency is corrected within 30 days, the manufacturer, supplier or distributor will no longer be approved.

Source: Item 8 — Restrictions on Sources of Products and Services (FDD pages 22–26)