Can the Bonchon System Brand Fund be used for celebrity endorsements?
Bonchon Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- C. The Fund may be used to meet any and all costs of administering, directing, preparing, placing and paying for national, regional or local advertising, including (without limitation): production and media; television, radio, cable, video, audio, magazine, newspaper, written materials, graphics, electronic media, and worldwide web/internet advertising campaigns; other advertising, marketing and public relations and promotional materials; point-of-purchase materials; consumer research, menu and promotion analytics tracking, interviews and related activities; the creation, maintenance and periodic modification of the Bonchon website; advertising at sports events; sports team sponsorships; mailers, door hangers, freestanding inserts/coupons, brochures and sponsorships; mystery shoppers (both for the Bonchon System and for competitive networks or units); celebrity endorsements; influencer marketing; reviewing any advertising material you propose to use (as provided below); search engine optimization; establishing a third party facility for customizing local advertising materials; accounting for Bonchon System Brand Fund receipts and expenditures; attendance at industry related conventions, shows or seminars; related retainers; association dues (including the International Franchise Association); social media programs on the
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 92–536)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bonchon's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Bonchon System Brand Fund can be used for celebrity endorsements. Specifically, the FDD states that the Fund may be used to cover the costs of national, regional, or local advertising, including celebrity endorsements. This indicates that Bonchon has the discretion to allocate funds towards securing celebrity endorsements to promote the brand.
For a prospective franchisee, this means that a portion of the mandatory System Brand Fund contributions, which are currently 1.5% of gross revenues but can be increased up to 4.0%, could be used for celebrity endorsements. While franchisees contribute to this fund, Bonchon retains sole control over how the advertising programs are directed, including the creative concepts, materials, and media used. Franchisees do not have a direct say in whether or not celebrity endorsements are used, nor are they guaranteed to benefit directly or pro rata from any specific advertising placement.
Bonchon retains the right to use any media and allocate brand funds to any regions as it deems appropriate. This includes the decision to engage in celebrity endorsements. While the FDD provides for the possibility of rebates to franchisees for local advertising expenditures, these rebates are contingent on Bonchon's judgment that national or regional advertising is ineffective in certain areas. Therefore, franchisees should be aware that their contributions to the System Brand Fund may be used for celebrity endorsements at the discretion of Bonchon, as part of its broader advertising strategy.