Under what conditions can a Buff City Soap franchisee use customer data?
Buff_City_Soap Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
rol with the named Person.
- (b) "Agreement" means this Operator's Confidentiality and Non-Compete between Agreement between Employer and Operator.
- (c) "Authorized Recipients" means employees of Employer or Franchisor with authorization to have the Confidential Information
- (d) "Competitive Business" means any retail establishment that, as determined by Franchisor, is the same as or substantially similar to the Makeries, including, without limitation, any personal body care product retail establishment or chain of retail establishments that feature products free of artificial detergents, surfactants, dyes, or harsh chemicals, or any retail establishment that has soaps, lotions, bath bombs and similar facial, body and hair care products collectively accounting for 25% or more of its average monthly gross sales for the retail establishment during the preceding 12 months (or, if the retail establishment has operated less than 12 months, the number of full calendar months of operation).
- (e) "Confidential Information" means any and all information, knowledge, know-how, trade secrets, trade dress, methodologies, techniques, procedures, applications and materials, in whatever form, used in or related to the System which Franchisor provides to Franchisee, or which Franchisee or its Affiliates or employees develop or have access to, in connection with this Agreement or the operation of a Buff City Soap makery hereunder, including, without limitation, the Standards; The Manuals; any components and ingredients, formulae and formulations applicable to Products; Franchisor's or its Affiliate's product and raw materials sourcing, pricing, manufacturing, inventory management and control, supply and distribution; technology, point of sale, and related computer software; advertising, marketing and promotional programs including gift card, loyalty and customer reward programs; customer data; financial data and statements; training and operational methodology content (including without limitation inventory and financial controls) and management programs; and any other information or data regarding the business of Franchisor or any of its Affiliates that would reasonably be considered the proprietary or confidential information of Franchisor or its Affiliates.
- (f) "Franchisor" means Buff City Soap Franchising, LLC.
- (g) "Franchise Agreement" means the Buff City Soap Franchise Agreement between Franchisor and Employer.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 69–186)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Buff City Soap's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, customer data is considered confidential information. Customer data includes any information from, about, or relating to customers of the Makery that identifies, or can be used to identify, contact, locate or be traced back to the specific Person to whom such information pertains, or from which identification or contact information of a Person can be derived. This includes personally identifiable information such as a person's name, address, phone number, email address, passport number, financial profile, or credit card information.
The Franchisee and its Principals will not use, duplicate, or disclose to others any Confidential Information except as expressly authorized by Franchisor in writing and will implement measures to maintain the confidentiality of such Confidential Information that is no less strict than the measures Franchisee uses with its own confidential information.
This means a Buff City Soap franchisee's ability to utilize customer data is heavily restricted and requires explicit written consent from Buff City Soap Franchising, LLC. Franchisees must also implement strict measures to protect customer data, at least as strict as those used to protect their own confidential information. This is a common practice in franchising to protect brand reputation and customer privacy.