Under what condition can the Beverly Anns Cookie Brand Fund contribution be increased at any time?
Beverly_Anns_Cookie Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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Advertising
Brand Fund
We have established a Brand Fund for Beverly Ann's Businesses. You must pay $1,000 per year to the Brand Fund for each Beverly Ann's Franchise you own and $200 per year for each piece of Additional
Equipment you operate. This amount can be raised annually by up to 10% in our sole discretion. The amount of the Brand Fund contribution may also be increased at any time upon super-majority (75%) of the Ad Council (which is defined below) and upon 30 days' notice to you of the increase. The Brand Fund may be held in a separate bank account, commercial account, or savings account, but we are not required to do so. The Brand Fund is administered by us or one of our affiliates, and we may use a professional advertising agency or media buyer to assist us with the supervision and administration of the Brand Fund. We may use national and/or regional advertising agencies as the source for our advertising materials, or we may prepare them in-house. Your contribution to the Brand Fund will be in addition to all other advertising requirements set out in this Item 11.
We may reimburse ourselves, our authorized representatives, or our affiliate from the Brand Fund for administrative costs, independent audits, reasonable accounting, bookkeeping, reporting and legal expenses, taxes, and all other reasonable direct or indirect expenses that may be incurred by us or our authorized representatives and associated with the programs funded by the Brand Fund. We assume no fiduciary duty to you or other direct or indirect liability or obligation to collect amounts due to the Brand Fund or to maintain, direct, or administer the Brand Fund. Any unused funds in any calendar year will be applied to the following year's funds, and we reserve the right to contribute or loan additional funds to the Brand Fund on any terms we deem reasonable. Because we do not have this fund audited, audited financial statements are not available to Beverly Ann's franchisees.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEM, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 37–43)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Beverly Anns Cookie's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must pay $1,000 per year to the Brand Fund for each franchise they own, and $200 per year for each piece of Additional Equipment they operate. The document states that Beverly Anns Cookie may increase the Brand Fund contribution at any time if a super-majority (75%) of the Ad Council approves the increase, provided that franchisees receive 30 days' notice.
The Ad Council is intended to be a brand advisory board that helps determine the type of advertising Beverly Anns Cookie will use, such as television, radio, billboard, or internet. The Ad Council will consist of franchisees and at least one franchisor representative, with franchisees serving two-year terms. To be chosen for the Ad Council, a franchisee must be in good standing, operate multiple franchises, and be actively involved in the betterment of the Beverly Anns Cookie system.
This condition gives the Ad Council significant influence over the Brand Fund contributions. Franchisees should consider the potential for increased costs and the importance of participating in the Ad Council to have a voice in these decisions. The franchisor retains the power to change the Ad Council, the selection process, and the members at any time, and also has the power to dissolve the Ad Council.