Under what circumstances might Buona elect not to make available standards and specifications to prospective suppliers?
Buona Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisor will establish uniform criteria for approving suppliers and make every reasonable effort to disseminate its standards and specifications to prospective suppliers of Franchisee upon written request of Franchisee.
However, Franchisor may elect not to make available to prospective suppliers the standards and specifications for such formulae or equipment designs deemed by Franchisor in its sole discretion to be confidential.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 78)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Buona's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Buona will establish criteria for approving suppliers and make reasonable efforts to disseminate its standards and specifications to prospective suppliers upon a franchisee's written request. However, Buona has the discretion to withhold standards and specifications for formulas or equipment designs that it deems confidential.
This means that while Buona aims to help franchisees maintain quality and uniformity by providing supplier standards, it reserves the right to protect its proprietary information. This is a fairly common practice in franchising, as franchisors need to safeguard their trade secrets and unique processes.
For a prospective Buona franchisee, this implies that while they can request that Buona share standards with potential suppliers, Buona is not obligated to disclose information it considers confidential. If a franchisee wants to use a specific supplier, they may need to ensure that the supplier meets Buona's standards without necessarily knowing the exact specifications for confidential items.