What salaries, administrative costs, and overhead can the Bens Soft Pretzels Advertising Fund cover?
Bens_Soft_Pretzels Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
onal or regional trade shows.
The Advertising Fund will be accounted for separately from our other funds and will not be used to defray any of our general operating expenses, except for reasonable salaries, administrative costs and overhead as we may incur in activities reasonably related to the administration of the Advertising Fund and its advertising and marketing programs including conducting market research, preparing advertising and marketing materials and collecting and accounting for contributions to the Advertising Fund. We may spend in any fiscal year an amount greater or less than the aggregate contribution of all stores to the Advertising Fund in that year and the Advertising Fund may borrow from us or other lenders to cover deficits of the Advertising Fund or cause the Advertising Fund to invest any surplus for future use by the Advertising Fund.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 23–30)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Bens Soft Pretzels Franchise Disclosure Document, the Advertising Fund can cover reasonable salaries, administrative costs, and overhead that Bens Soft Pretzels incurs while administering the Advertising Fund and its advertising and marketing programs. These activities include market research, preparing advertising and marketing materials, and collecting and accounting for Advertising Fund contributions.
For the year ending December 31, 2024, the FDD indicates how the Advertising Fund was spent. Specifically, 29.72% of the fund was allocated to administrative expenses. Other expenditures included 1.58% on production, 23.66% on media placement, and 6.54% on other uses such as dues, subscriptions, meals, entertainment, meetings, training, supplies, travel, and lodging.
It is important to note that Bens Soft Pretzels has sole discretion over the advertising and marketing programs financed by the Advertising Fund. This includes creative concepts, materials, endorsements, and the geographic, market, media placement, and allocation strategies used. The FDD specifies that the Advertising Fund is not currently used for soliciting new franchise sales.