Are Bojangles franchisees required to enter into a distribution agreement with McLane Foodservice, Inc. or Sysco Corporation?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You will be required to enter into a distribution agreement with McLane Foodservice, Inc. or Sysco Corporation (or its designated affiliate) as our currently designated general distributors, depending on the geographic market where your Restaurant will be located.
The cost of food items, ingredients, equipment, furnishings, supplies, materials, and other items and the cost of distribution of these items from approved vendors may vary among franchised Restaurants and company-operated Restaurants. These variations in cost are due to various factors, including the geographic proximity of your Restaurant to the supplier's distribution center, the number of deliveries scheduled to your area each week and actual transportation costs. Our distributors may charge surcharges or other costs that are not equally charged to other franchisees or company-operated Restaurants, particularly if your restaurants are not close to other Restaurants or far from a central distribution location. In evaluating which approved suppliers you wish to purchase from, you may want to take these factors into consideration.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 30–37)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bojangles's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to enter into a distribution agreement with either McLane Foodservice, Inc. or Sysco Corporation. These companies are designated as Bojangles's general distributors. The specific distributor a franchisee must use depends on the geographic location of their restaurant.
The FDD also notes that the cost of items and their distribution from approved vendors can vary between franchised and company-operated restaurants. This variation can be attributed to factors such as the restaurant's proximity to the supplier's distribution center, the number of deliveries scheduled per week, and transportation costs. Distributors may also charge surcharges or other costs that are not equally applied to all franchisees or company-operated restaurants, especially if a restaurant is not near other Bojangles locations or is far from a central distribution point.
Therefore, when evaluating approved suppliers, prospective Bojangles franchisees should consider these factors to minimize costs. While Bojangles does not currently have purchasing or distribution cooperatives, it reserves the right to establish them in the future, which could potentially impact distribution arrangements and costs.