Can the Cinnaholic franchisor designate a single or multiple exclusive suppliers?
Cinnaholic Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisor may designate at any time and for any reason, a single or multiple suppliers for ingredients, products, supplies, furnishings and equipment and require Franchisee to purchase exclusively from such designated supplier or suppliers, which exclusive designated supplier(s) may be Franchisor or an affiliate of Franchisor.
If Franchisor designates itself as a supplier, Franchisor has the right to earn a profit on any items it supplies.
Franchisor and its affiliates may receive payments, discounts or other consideration from suppliers in consideration of such suppliers' dealings with Franchisee and/or the system of CINNAHOLIC® franchisees, and may use all amounts received by it without restriction.
Franchisor is not required to give Franchisee an accounting of supplier payments or to share the benefit of supplier payments with Franchisee or other CINNAHOLIC® franchisees.
- (viii) If Franchisee desires to purchase any ingredients, products, supplies, furnishings and equipment from suppliers other than those previously approved by Franchisor and such items have not been designated by Franchisor to be exclusively supplied by a designated supplier(s), Franchisee shall first submit to Franchisor a written request for authorization to purchase such items, together with such information and samples as Franchisor may require.
Franchisor shall have the right to require periodically that its representatives be permitted to inspect such items and/or supplies' facilities, and that samples from the proposed suppliers, or of the proposed items, be delivered for evaluation and testing either to Franchisor or to an independent testing facility designated by Franchisor.
Permission for such inspections shall be a condition of the initial and continuing approval of such supplier, manufacturer or distributor.
A charge not to exceed the reasonable cost of the evaluation and testing shall be paid by Franchisee.
Franchisor shall, within 90 days after its receipt of such request and completion of such evaluation and testing (if required by Franchisor), notify Franchisee in writing of its approval or disapproval.
Franchisor may deny such approval for any reason, including its determination to limit the number of approved suppliers.
The provisions above shall only apply if Franchisor has not designated a supplier or suppliers.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 61–62)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cinnaholic's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Cinnaholic has the authority to designate single or multiple exclusive suppliers for ingredients, products, supplies, furnishings, and equipment. This means that franchisees may be required to purchase exclusively from these designated suppliers. These suppliers can be Cinnaholic itself or an affiliate of Cinnaholic. If Cinnaholic designates itself as the supplier, it has the right to profit from these supplies.
Cinnaholic and its affiliates may also receive payments, discounts, or other forms of consideration from suppliers based on the suppliers' dealings with Cinnaholic franchisees. Cinnaholic is not obligated to provide an accounting of these supplier payments to franchisees or share the benefits.
If a franchisee wishes to purchase items from suppliers not already approved by Cinnaholic, and these items are not designated to be exclusively supplied, the franchisee must submit a written request for authorization. Cinnaholic has the right to inspect the supplier's facilities and require samples for evaluation and testing, with the franchisee bearing the reasonable costs of such evaluations. Cinnaholic can deny approval for any reason, including limiting the number of approved suppliers. These provisions apply only if Cinnaholic has not already designated an exclusive supplier.