With whom may a Bens Soft Pretzels franchisee contract for supplies?
Bens_Soft_Pretzels Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You may contract only with suppliers whom we have approved. We will notify you of our approval or disapproval within 30 days of our receiving all requested information. We may revoke our approval of a supplier at any time for any reason. Upon receipt of our revocation of approval, you must cease to use or sell any disapproved products and cease to purchase from any disapproved supplier.
For example, as of the date of this Disclosure Document, you must purchase your loyalty cards, gift cards, starter kit, some flavor toppings and some of the equipment and signage for your Store solely from our affiliate, Live Large Distribution Inc*.* In addition, you must purchase your food, Ben's Soft Pretzels pretzel mix and proprietary goods such as your cups, lids, pretzel sleeves, imported German salt, and take-home kits from Gordon Food Service, Inc. In limited instances when these items are not available from Gordon Food Service, you will purchase such items from Live Large Distribution, Inc. You must participate in our national Pepsi contract and serve Pepsi soft drinks unless your store is inside a designated area for a different soda brand. You must obtain your point of sale hardware and software system and your payments processing system from our approved supplier.
Except for any products, supplies or materials for which we designate a single source approved supplier, if you wish to purchase products, supplies, materials or equipment from other suppliers not approved by us, you must submit to us a written request to approve the proposed supplier, together with any background documents or evidence we may require. We will have the right to require you to obtain permissions from the supplier to allow our representatives to inspect the supplier's facilities and that you deliver samples from the supplier for evaluation and testing either to us or to an independent testing facility that we designate. To have an alternate supplier approved, you must first notify us in writing, submit
We estimate that your required purchases and leases in compliance with the above specifications of goods, services, supplies, fixtures, equipment, inventory, computer hardware and software, real estate and comparable items will represent 90 to 95% of your overall purchases and leases in establishing the Store and 50 to 60% operating the Store.
We may negotiate prices for numerous products for the benefit of the System but not on behalf of individual franchisees. Currently, there is no purchasing or distribution cooperative but we reserve the right to create a cooperative and require you to participate. We may receive volume discounts for the System which we will pass through to our franchised Stores. Beyond these discounts, we do not provide material benefits to you because of your use of approved suppliers.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 18–22)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bens Soft Pretzels's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must adhere to specific guidelines regarding the sourcing of products and services to maintain uniformity and quality within the franchise system. Franchisees are permitted to contract only with suppliers approved by Bens Soft Pretzels. To gain approval for a new supplier, a franchisee must submit a written request along with any required background information. Bens Soft Pretzels has the right to require permission for their representatives to inspect the supplier's facilities and to obtain samples for evaluation, potentially at an independent testing facility. Bens Soft Pretzels will then notify the franchisee of their decision within 30 days of receiving all the necessary information. However, Bens Soft Pretzels retains the right to revoke approval of a supplier at any time, and franchisees must immediately cease using or purchasing from any disapproved supplier.
Bens Soft Pretzels designates specific suppliers for certain products. As of the date of the 2025 Disclosure Document, franchisees must purchase loyalty cards, gift cards, starter kits, some flavor toppings, and certain equipment and signage from Live Large Distribution Inc., an affiliate of Bens Soft Pretzels. Additionally, franchisees are required to purchase food, Ben's Soft Pretzels pretzel mix, and proprietary goods like cups, lids, pretzel sleeves, imported German salt, and take-home kits from Gordon Food Service, Inc. In limited cases where these items are unavailable from Gordon Food Service, franchisees can purchase them from Live Large Distribution, Inc. Franchisees must also participate in the national Pepsi contract, serving Pepsi soft drinks unless their store is within a designated area for a different soda brand, and obtain their point-of-sale (POS) hardware and software, as well as payment processing systems, from approved suppliers.
Beyond these designated suppliers, franchisees have the option to propose alternative suppliers for approval, but this process involves submitting a formal request and potentially undergoing inspections and evaluations. Bens Soft Pretzels estimates that required purchases and leases represent a significant portion of a franchisee's overall expenditures, accounting for 90% to 95% of initial establishment costs and 50% to 60% of ongoing operating expenses. While Bens Soft Pretzels may negotiate prices for numerous products to benefit the system, they do not do so on behalf of individual franchisees. Although there isn't a purchasing or distribution cooperative currently, Bens Soft Pretzels reserves the right to establish one in the future and require franchisee participation. Volume discounts received by Bens Soft Pretzels for the system may be passed on to franchised stores, but beyond these discounts, franchisees do not receive material benefits from using approved suppliers.