Can Crave Cookies Franchising use the Marketing Fund for overhead expenses?
Crave_Cookies Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Crave Cookies Franchising shall use the Marketing Fund only for marketing, advertising, and public relations materials, programs and campaigns (including at local, regional, national, and/or international level), and related overhead.
The foregoing includes such activities and expenses as Crave Cookies Franchising reasonably determines, and may include, without limitation: development and placement of advertising and promotions; sponsorships; contests and sweepstakes; development of décor, trade dress, Marks, and/or branding; development and maintenance of brand websites; social media; internet activities; e-commerce programs; search engine optimization; market research; public relations, media or agency costs; trade shows and other events; printing and mailing; and administrative and overhead expenses related to the Marketing Fund (including the compensation of Crave Cookies Franchising's employees working on marketing and for accounting, bookkeeping, reporting, legal and other expenses related to the Marketing Fund).
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 47)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crave Cookies's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Marketing Fund can be used for overhead expenses. Specifically, Crave Cookies Franchising is permitted to use the Marketing Fund for marketing, advertising, and public relations materials, programs, and campaigns at various levels (local, regional, national, and international), including related overhead costs. This means that the contributions franchisees make to the Marketing Fund may be used to cover the administrative costs associated with managing the fund itself.
The FDD details the types of activities and expenses that Crave Cookies Franchising can allocate from the Marketing Fund. These include the development and placement of advertising and promotions, sponsorships, contests, the development of branding, website maintenance, social media activities, e-commerce programs, search engine optimization, market research, public relations, trade shows, printing, mailing, and administrative and overhead expenses related to the Marketing Fund. This extends to compensating Crave Cookies Franchising's employees working on marketing and covering accounting, bookkeeping, reporting, and legal expenses related to the Marketing Fund.
It is important to note that Crave Cookies has sole discretion over how the Marketing Fund is spent, and expenditures do not need to be proportionate to individual franchisee contributions or provide direct benefits to each franchisee. Crave Cookies Franchising is also not obligated to ensure that all other Crave Cookies businesses contribute to the fund at the same rate as the franchisee. This means that while franchisees are required to contribute 2% of their gross sales to the Marketing Fund, they do not have control over how those funds are spent, and the franchisor has significant leeway in allocating resources for marketing and related overhead.