Is a Crave franchisee required to purchase all food and beverage items from approved suppliers?
Crave Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
if the sample fails to conform to our specifications.
You must obtain all food and beverage items, ingredients, supplies, materials, fixtures, furnishings, equipment (including point-of-sale system and the associated hardware and software, and communication systems), and other products used or offered for sale at the Franchised Business solely from suppliers who demonstrate, to our continuing reasonable satisfaction, the ability to meet our then-current standards or in accordance with our standards and specifications. A complete list of our approved products and suppliers will be included in the Manual and is subject to change over time. We will provide you notice in the Manual or otherwise in writing (such as via email) of any changes to the lists of approved products and approved suppliers.
If you choose to install a self-serve beer tap wall, our sole approved supplier for the required selfserve beer tap wall equipment and installation services and for the support and maintenance of the beer wall in your Restaurant is PourMyBeer based in Chicago, Illinois. If you choose to install a self-serve beer tap wall, you must purchase all non-beer tap wall equipment, and all furniture and small wares from our designated supplier for these products, Burkett Restaurant Equipment & Supplies in Perrysburg, Ohio. You must also purchase or lease the eight-valve legacy system (bag-in-box) soda dispensing machine from The Coca-Cola Company, and it must include the dispenser for Gold Peak Tea. Food Truck businesses are not required to have a soda dispensing machine. If you choose to install a self-serve beer tap wall, you must use the Untappd App, through the designated supplier Untappd, in operating your Restaurant in order to update the tap beers on the beer wall and to communicate with the local beer community. Use of this app is not required for Food Truck or Express Restaurant businesses. All furniture must be purchased through East Coast Chair and Barstool in Mercer, PA.
You must use the Clover point-of-sale system, including all associated hardware and software, and Clover Network, Inc. in Sunnyvale, California, is our designated supplier for this system and for the Abreeze Reporting App. You must also participate in our Crave Loyalty Program and offer digital ordering and mobile services through our mobile application and self-order kiosks (kiosks in Restaurants only), and you must use our designated Applova App. The fees for this program and these services are also paid to Clover Network, Inc. If you choose to install Axe Throwing lanes, you must use Axebooker as your booking software for Axe Throwing.
You must use Provost Construction located in Norfolk, VA as your General Contractor. You must use Ni Design in Farmington, CT as your architect.
You must purchase or lease your Food Truck from our designated supplier, Master Chef Mobile Kitchens located in Hicksville, New York. Imperial Dade is the designated supplier of our logo'd paper products. None of our officers has an ownership interest in any of the above-named suppliers.
If you wish to purchase, lease or use any products that we have not previously approved, or purchase or lease from a supplier we have not previously approved, you must submit a written request for approval or you must request the supplier to do so. You must pay our then-current evaluation fee for each product or supplier you request to have approved, and you must reimburse our reasonable costs related to our testing and inspection. We must approve any product or supplier in writing before you make any purchases of that product or from that supplier. We can require that our representatives be permitted to inspect the supplier's facilities and that samples from the supplier be delivered, either to us or to an independent laboratory, for testing. We have the right to re-inspect the facilities and products of any approved supplier and to revoke our approval if the supplier fails to continue to meet any of our then-current standards. Our supplier approval procedure does not obligate us to approve any particular supplier. We will notify you in writing within 30 days after you have requested our approval whether the proposed product or supplier is, in fact, approved or disapproved. We are not required to make available to you or to any supplier our criteria for product or supplier approval.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 26–30)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crave's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must purchase all food and beverage items, ingredients, supplies, materials, fixtures, furnishings, and equipment from approved suppliers. These suppliers must demonstrate the ability to meet Crave's standards and specifications. A complete list of approved products and suppliers is included in the Manual and is subject to change, with written notice provided to franchisees.
This requirement ensures that Crave maintains quality and consistency across all franchise locations. Franchisees cannot deviate from these standards without written consent from Crave, and Crave can modify these standards as necessary, providing written notice of any changes. Crave has the right to inspect suppliers' facilities and products and can revoke approval if a supplier fails to meet the brand's standards.
Crave also has the right to collect and retain any allowances, rebates, credits, incentives, or benefits offered by manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors based on franchisee purchases. Franchisees must use the Clover point-of-sale system and participate in the Crave Loyalty Program, using designated apps like the Applova App. For Food Trucks, franchisees must purchase or lease their vehicles from Master Chef Mobile Kitchens, and logo'd paper products must be sourced from Imperial Dade.
If a franchisee wishes to use a product or supplier not already approved, they must submit a written request for approval and pay an evaluation fee. Crave will then notify the franchisee in writing within 30 days whether the proposed product or supplier is approved or disapproved. Crave is not obligated to approve any specific product or supplier if it believes that approval is not in the best interests of the Crave system.