What product does Bay Center produce for Chick Fil A?
Chick_Fil_A Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
actors, a distribution fee and an allowance for fuel and freight costs from the CFA Supply warehouse to the Chick-fil-A Restaurants it will supply.
Our affiliate Bay Center produces Chick-fil-A branded lemon juice that is a proprietary principal ingredient used to produce proprietary Chick-fil-A branded lemonade. Bay Center is an approved supplier to supply lemon juice to Chick-fil-A Restaurants in geographic areas it operates. Bay Center may be the only approved supplier of lemon juice for the geographic area where it operates. Bay Center began operations in 2020. The lemon juice is purchased by Chick-fil-A's authorized distributor(s) from Bay Center and is shipped by Bay Center directly to Chick-fil-A's authorized distributor(s). The distributor(s) pays Bay Center for the proprietary lemon juice when the lemon juice is purchased by the distributor(s). The distributor(s) then sells the lemon juice to the Operators. If your franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant is in a location Bay Center supplies, your cost for the lemon juice depends on a pricing formula Bay Center determines in the exercise of its sole and exclusive business judgment that includes a markup by Bay Center that may change. Based upon the cost of ingredients to Bay Center (including any freight charges) your cost will fluctuate.
You must purchase all of the following items from suppliers who are approved in advance by Chick-fil-A: all present and future items of food and drink; all items of non-food inventory intended for sale to or use by your customers;
Source: Item 8 — Restrictions on Sources of Products and Services (FDD pages 43–49)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Chick Fil A's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Bay Center, an affiliate of Chick Fil A, produces Chick-fil-A branded lemon juice. This lemon juice is a proprietary principal ingredient specifically used to produce Chick-fil-A branded lemonade. Bay Center may be the only approved supplier of lemon juice in the geographic areas where it operates. Bay Center began operations in 2020.
The lemon juice produced by Bay Center is not directly purchased by Chick Fil A franchisees (Operators). Instead, Chick-fil-A's authorized distributors purchase the lemon juice from Bay Center and then ship it to these distributors. The distributors pay Bay Center for the lemon juice upon purchase and then sell it to the Operators. This system ensures that Chick Fil A maintains control over a key ingredient in its lemonade, ensuring consistent quality and taste across all franchise locations.
The cost of lemon juice for franchisees depends on a pricing formula determined by Bay Center. This formula includes a markup that may change and fluctuates based on the cost of ingredients to Bay Center, including any freight charges. In 2024, Bay Center received $186,616,788 from purchases made by Chick-fil-A's authorized distributor(s) for distribution of lemon juice to Operators and Licensees in geographic areas it serviced which is included in Chick Fil A's consolidated revenues. This figure does not include any markup added by the distributor(s) at the time of resale.