Under what conditions can a Crave franchisee purchase items from suppliers who are not initially approved?
Crave Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
(5) years during the term of this Agreement, except that if the Franchised Business is transferred pursuant to Article 14, we may request that the transferee remodel and/or redecorate the Franchised Business as described herein.
7.4 Approved Suppliers
You shall comply with all of our standards and specifications relating to the purchase of all food and beverage items, ingredients, supplies, materials, fixtures, furnishings, equipment (including point-ofsale and computer hardware and software systems) and other products used or offered for sale at the Franchised Business. Except as provided in Sections 7.6 and 7.7 with respect to certain materials bearing the Marks and proprietary products, you shall obtain such items from suppliers (including manufacturers, distributors and other sources) who continue to demonstrate the ability to meet our then-current standards and specifications for food and beverage items, ingredients, supplies, materials, fixtures, furnishings, equipment and other items used or offered for sale at Franchised Businesses and who possess adequate quality controls and capacity to supply your needs promptly and reliably; and who have been approved in writing by us prior to any purchases by you from any such supplier; and who have not thereafter been disapproved by us. You shall obtain equipment and installation of the self-serve beer tap wall for your Franchised Business only from our sole approved supplier. You shall obtain services for your Franchised Business' loyalty program and your electronic ordering mobile solution only from our sole approved supplier.
If you desire to purchase, lease or use any unapproved products or other items, or you desire to purchase or lease from an unapproved supplier, you shall submit to us a written request for approval of such product or supplier, or shall request the supplier itself to do so. You shall pay our then-current evaluation fee for each product or supplier you request to have approved, and you shall reimburse the reasonable expenses we incur related to our evaluation of the proposed product or supplier. You shall not purchase or lease any product or from any supplier until and unless such product or supplier has been approved in writing by us. We shall have the right to require that our representatives be permitted to inspect the
proposed supplier's facilities, and that samples from the supplier be delivered, either to us or to an independent laboratory designated by us, for testing. We reserve the right, at our option, to re-inspect from time to time the facilities and products of any such approved supplier and to revoke our approval upon the supplier's failure to continue to meet any of our then-current criteria. Nothing herein shall be construed to require us to approve any particular supplier.
You understand and acknowledge that we may periodically receive payments from approved suppliers, such as in the form of rebates, based on such approved suppliers' sales of products and services to our franchisees.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 63–253)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crave's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are generally required to purchase items from approved suppliers who meet Crave's standards and specifications. However, a Crave franchisee can request approval for unapproved products or suppliers.
To initiate this process, the franchisee must submit a written request to Crave for the approval of the new product or supplier. Alternatively, the supplier can directly request approval from Crave. The franchisee is responsible for paying an evaluation fee, the amount of which is determined by Crave at that time, for each product or supplier they want to have approved. Additionally, the franchisee must reimburse Crave for any reasonable expenses incurred during the evaluation process.
Crave retains the right to inspect the supplier's facilities and may require samples for testing, either by Crave or an independent laboratory. The franchisee cannot purchase or lease any product from an unapproved supplier until Crave provides written approval. Even after approval, Crave can re-inspect the supplier's facilities and products periodically and revoke approval if the supplier fails to meet Crave's standards. Crave does not guarantee the approval of any particular supplier.
If the supplier has not been previously approved or if the sample fails to meet Crave's specifications, Crave may require the franchisee to bear the cost of testing. This process ensures that Crave maintains control over the quality and standards of products used in its franchises, while also allowing franchisees the opportunity to propose alternative suppliers or products under specific conditions.