Are recipes considered 'Confidential Information' for a Bhc franchise?
Bhc Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
facturing of fried chicken, sandwich, and other products offered in BHC Restaurants and which constitute 10% or more of the gross retail sales of any BHC Restaurant.
- "Confidential Information" means information, know-how, and materials that are of value to Franchisor (or other third party, as applicable) and treated as confidential by Franchisor and is disclosed or made known or available to Master Franchisee or its employees or agents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term "Confidential Information" includes, without limitation: (i) the Operations Manual; (ii) all technical and non-technical information, including without limitation, information concerning finances, financing and capital raising plans, accounting or marketing, business opportunities, affiliate lists, business plans, forecasts, predictions, projections, recipes, products, research, development, and know-how; (iii) "Intellectual Property" (as defined in this Article 1), the Marks, BHC Products, insignias, designs, and materials subject to copyright, patent, or trademark registration; (iv) any developments, inventions, improvements, additions, modifications, enhancements, derivatives, ideas, reports, analyses, opinions, studies, data or other materials or work product, whether prepared by Franchisor or otherwise, that contain or are based upon the proprietary information; (v) information regarding customers and potential customers of the Franchised Business, including customer lists, names, needs or desires with respect to the products or services offered, contracts and their contents and parties, the type and quantity of products and services provided or sought to be provided to customers and potential customers of the Franchised Business and other non-public information relating to customers and potential customers; (vi) information regarding any of Franchisor's business partners or affiliates and their services, including names, representatives, proposals, bids, contracts and their contents and parties, the type and quantity of products and services received by the discloser, and other non-public information relating to business partners; (vii) information regarding personnel, includi
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 52–230)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bhc's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, recipes are considered Confidential Information. The FDD defines Confidential Information as valuable information, know-how, and materials treated as confidential by Bhc and disclosed to the franchisee. This broad definition includes various types of information, with recipes specifically listed as an example.
As a Bhc franchisee, you are granted access to this Confidential Information, including the recipes, but you must maintain its confidentiality. This means you cannot share the recipes with unauthorized parties or use them for any purpose other than operating your franchised Bhc restaurant. The FDD emphasizes that the Operations Manual and other provided information are trade secrets and must be kept confidential during and after the franchise agreement term.
Bhc retains all rights to its Proprietary Information, including recipes, and franchisees only have the right to use it within the scope of their franchise agreement. Franchisees must not act in any way that infringes upon Bhc's rights to its Marks or Proprietary Information. This protection of confidential information is standard practice in franchising to maintain brand consistency and competitive advantage.