Must a Byrider franchisee obtain Byrider Franchising Partners' approval before using or selling any unapproved products or services?
Byrider Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
If you want to purchase products or services from sources not recommended or approved by Byrider Franchising Partners, you must submit samples and specifications to Byrider Franchising Partners for testing to determine whether the products or services comply with Byrider Franchising Partners' standards and specifications, which Byrider Franchising Partners may periodically modify. You must obtain Byrider Franchising Partners' prior written approval before you use or sell any unapproved products or services. There are no fees or any additional procedures to secure approval to purchase from alternative suppliers. Byrider Franchising Partners may, in its discretion, share such standards and specifications with you and/or approved suppliers, but it is not obligated to do so. Byrider Franchising Partners maintains a list of criteria for reviewing and approving products, services, and suppliers; however, Byrider Franchising Partners does not issue this criteria to you and such criteria for approving suppliers is not available to franchisees. Byrider Franchising Partners will not unreasonably withhold approval and will notify you within 30 days of your request that it has approved or rejected your proposed vendor or supplier. If Byrider Franchising Partners rejects the proposed vendor or supplier, it will give you the reasons for rejection. If Byrider Franchising Partners approves an alternative supplier or product or service, Byrider Franchising Partners may revoke such approval upon 90 days' written notice.
Source: Item 8 — Restrictions on Sources of Products and Services (FDD pages 36–40)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Byrider's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee must obtain prior written approval from Byrider Franchising Partners before using or selling any products or services that have not been pre-approved. To gain approval, the franchisee needs to submit samples and specifications of the products or services to Byrider for testing to ensure they meet the franchisor's standards.
There are no fees or additional procedures for securing approval from alternative suppliers. Byrider may share its standards and specifications with franchisees and/or approved suppliers, but it is not obligated to do so. Byrider maintains a list of criteria for reviewing and approving products, services, and suppliers, but this criteria is not issued to franchisees.
Byrider will not unreasonably withhold approval and will notify the franchisee within 30 days of the request whether the proposed vendor or supplier has been approved or rejected. If rejected, Byrider will provide the reasons for the rejection. If an alternative supplier, product, or service is approved, Byrider may revoke such approval with 90 days' written notice.
This requirement ensures that Byrider maintains consistent quality and standards across all its franchise locations. While it might seem restrictive, the process includes a defined timeline for approval and a commitment from Byrider not to unreasonably withhold approval, offering some reassurance to franchisees seeking alternative suppliers.