What does Item 8 of the Bojangles FDD disclose regarding restrictions on purchases?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
RODUCTS AND SERVICES**
To ensure that the highest degree of quality and service is maintained, you must operate your Restaurant in strict conformity with the methods, standards, and specifications that we periodically prescribe in the Manual (defined below) or otherwise in writing.
Products and Suppliers
You must purchase proprietary seasonings and specially formulated pre-prepared mixes that are required ingredients of various menu items from our designated suppliers in addition to other proprietary products available only to Restaurants that are part of the Bojangles System. There are other products that may not be exclusively proprietary to the Bojangles System but that are produced or purchased according to our specification and direction including bone-in chicken (offered in certain markets), pork, dairy and produce products, and coffee and tea products. In certain markets, Bojangles Restaurants may offer the Boneless Chicken Only Menu with a different or more limited menu, and may not serve breakfast all day. You must purchase only approved and designated items, and you may not purchase any item not specifically approved by us. You may purchase all items only from approved and designated suppliers and using only those distribution providers that we approve and designate. We will make a list of our approved suppliers and distributors available to you upon request.
Pepsi-Cola currently is our exclusive supplier of beverages for cola and most other soft drinks ("Post-Mix Products") throughout the domestic Bojangles System for new franchisees. You must, as a condition to becoming a Bojangles franchisee, offer for sale at the Restaurant Pepsi-Cola Post-Mix Products
unless your Restaurant is located within an entertainment and sports venue or food-court that does not sell Pepsi fountain products or is part of a multi-brand operation that shares a single fountain beverage station that does not sell Pepsi fountain products. Certain existing Bojangles franchisees may be exempt from the requirement to purchase the Pepsi-Cola Post-Mix Products.
You must purchase all other food items including soft drinks and other beverages, ingredients, equipment (including, without limitation, technology equipment, components and software), furnishings, supplies, materials, services, and other items used or offered for sale at the Restaurant solely from approved suppliers (including manufacturers, distributors, and other sources) who demonstrate, to our continuing reasonable satisfaction, the ability to meet our then-current standards and specifications for such items; who possess adequate quality controls and capacity to supply your needs promptly and reliably; and who have been approved by us in writing and not thereafter disapproved.
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 16 — RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT THE FRANCHISEE MAY SELL (FDD pages 54–55)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bojangles's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 8 outlines specific restrictions on where franchisees can source products and services. To maintain quality and service standards, franchisees must operate their restaurants strictly according to the methods, standards, and specifications detailed in Bojangles' manual or in writing. Franchisees are required to purchase proprietary seasonings and specially formulated pre-prepared mixes, essential for various menu items, exclusively from Bojangles' designated suppliers. Other products, like bone-in chicken, pork, dairy, produce, coffee, and tea, must also meet Bojangles' specifications and be purchased from approved suppliers.
The FDD specifies that Pepsi-Cola is the exclusive beverage supplier for cola and most other soft drinks for new franchisees within the domestic Bojangles system. As a condition of becoming a franchisee, you must offer Pepsi-Cola Post-Mix Products unless the restaurant is in an entertainment venue, sports venue, food court that does not sell Pepsi products, or is part of a multi-brand operation that shares a single fountain beverage station that does not sell Pepsi fountain products. Bojangles retains the right to revoke approval of any product, service, or supplier if they no longer meet the brand's standards. If approval is revoked, franchisees must immediately cease using the disapproved products or suppliers.
Bojangles estimates that purchases and leases subject to their standards and specifications will constitute approximately 100% of the costs for establishing and operating the restaurant. While Bojangles does not currently have purchasing or distribution cooperatives, they reserve the right to establish them in the future. The document also mentions that Bojangles negotiates purchase arrangements with some suppliers, potentially offering price and discount benefits to franchisees and the Bojangles system. Some suppliers may provide rebates or volume discounts, which are either passed on to the franchisee or deposited into the Marketing Development Fund.
Prospective franchisees should note that compliance with these purchasing restrictions is a factor Bojangles considers when deciding whether to renew or grant additional franchises. Franchisees are also required to obtain written approval of lease terms and mortgages, ensuring these documents permit assignment to Bojangles in case of default. Additionally, franchisees must purchase and use the specified computer hardware and software system, and maintain required insurance coverage, including worker's compensation and comprehensive general liability insurance, with Bojangles named as an additional insured.