For Black Bear Diner, what is the franchisee's obligation regarding the purchase of fountain and packaged beverages?
Black_Bear_Diner Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Fountain Beverages. We currently maintain purchasing and pricing arrangements for the supply of fountain and packaged beverages including soft drinks, teas, waters, isotonics, energy drinks, juices, juice drinks, dairy-based and coffee-based beverages. Pepsi and Dr. Pepper are the only approved beverage lines for your Franchised Restaurant. You must feature and exclusively purchase your requirements of beverage products from full-line suppliers of Pepsi and Dr. Pepper products. Certain funds will be paid by beverage suppliers directly to qualifying franchisees and others to us. These funds may be designated for general and in-store advertising, system-wide promotions and/ or franchise conventions.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 22–26)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Black Bear Diner Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to purchase fountain and packaged beverages from approved suppliers. Specifically, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper are the only approved beverage lines. Franchisees must exclusively purchase their beverage product requirements from full-line suppliers of Pepsi and Dr. Pepper products.
Black Bear Diner maintains purchasing and pricing arrangements for these beverages, which include soft drinks, teas, waters, isotonics, energy drinks, juices, juice drinks, dairy-based, and coffee-based beverages. This means franchisees do not have the option to source these products from other suppliers.
Certain funds may be paid by beverage suppliers directly to qualifying franchisees and to Black Bear Diner. These funds can be designated for various purposes such as general and in-store advertising, system-wide promotions, and franchise conventions. This arrangement suggests that franchisees may benefit from supplier contributions, potentially reducing advertising or promotional costs. However, the specifics of how these funds are distributed and used may vary.
This requirement ensures consistency in product offerings across all Black Bear Diner locations and allows the franchisor to negotiate favorable pricing and promotional arrangements with beverage suppliers. Franchisees should be aware of this exclusive purchasing requirement and factor it into their operational costs and business planning.