Must a Better Blend franchisee offer for sale only goods that Better Blend has approved?
Better_Blend Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
of cancellation.
- C. Point-of-sale software and hardware, and related software and hardware. You must purchase (or lease) the point-of-sale software and hardware, and related software and hardware, that we specify. See Item 11 for more details.
- D. Inventory from Better Blend Nutrition LLC. Our affiliate Better Blend Nutrition LLC will sell certain inventory to you. Currently, it is the sole supplier of your mixes, to-go bags, BlendBox Pouches, and BlendBox Boxes.
- E. Restaurant Equipment; Other Inventory and Supplies. All of your kitchen equipment must meet our specifications and be purchased only from approved suppliers. You must purchase our proprietary protein blend from our specified vendor. All of your food, supplements, beverage, packaging, and other inventory purchases must meet our specifications and be purchased only from approved suppliers. You must use a distributor that we approve.
- F. Advertising and Marketing. Except as otherwise provided in the Brand Standards Manual and advertising or marketing materials that we furnish to you, you must submit all advertising and marketing materials to us for our written approval before use. You must ensure that all advertising or marketing materials that you use are clear, factual, ethical, and not misleading; comply with our brand standards; and comply with all laws. We have the right to establish and control all digital marketing.
Except as described above regarding Better Blend Nutrition LLC, neither we nor any affiliate is currently a supplier of any good or service that you must purchase. We reserve the right to be a supplier (or the sole supplier) of a good or service in the future. None of our officers own an interest in any supplier to our franchisees other than Better Blend Nutrition LLC.
Alternative Suppliers
If you want to use a supplier that is not on our list of approved suppliers, you must request our approval in writing. We have the sole discretion to approve or reject an alternative supplier. We may condition our approval on criteria we deem appropriate, such as evaluations of the supplier's capacity, quality, financial stability, reputation, and reliability; inspections; product
testing, and performance reviews. Our criteria for approving suppliers are not available to you.
Source: Item 16 — RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT THE FRANCHISEE MAY SELL (FDD pages 33–34)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Better Blend's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must adhere to strict guidelines regarding the goods and services they offer. Specifically, franchisees are required to purchase or lease point-of-sale software and hardware that Better Blend specifies. Certain inventory items, including mixes, to-go bags, BlendBox Pouches, and BlendBox Boxes, must be purchased from Better Blend Nutrition LLC, an affiliate of the franchisor, which is currently the sole supplier of these items.
Kitchen equipment must meet Better Blend's specifications and be purchased from approved suppliers. The proprietary protein blend must be sourced from a specified vendor. All food, supplements, beverages, packaging, and other inventory purchases must meet Better Blend's standards and come from approved suppliers, including using an approved distributor. While Better Blend does not currently receive payments from designated suppliers based on franchisee purchases, the franchise agreement permits them to do so in the future.
If a franchisee wishes to use a supplier not already on the approved list, they must request written approval from Better Blend, which has the sole discretion to approve or reject the alternative supplier. Approval may be conditional based on evaluations of the supplier's capacity, quality, financial stability, reputation, and reliability, as well as inspections, product testing, and performance reviews. Better Blend estimates that required purchases and leases account for 70% to 90% of the total purchases and leases needed to establish and operate the business.