Is the access to Seller's Documents by Noodles & Company subject to any confidentiality provisions?
Noodles_Company Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You and your Owners, if any, may gain access to parts of Noodles & Company's Confidential Information as a result of investing in Franchisee.
The Confidential Information is proprietary and includes Noodles & Company trade secrets.
You and your Owners hereby agree that while you and they have a legal or beneficial ownership interest in Franchisee and indefinitely thereafter you and they: (a) will not use the Confidential Information in any other business or capacity (such use being an unfair method of competition); (b) will exert best efforts to maintain the confidentiality of the Confidential Information; (c) will not make unauthorized copies of any portion of the Confidential Information disclosed in written, electronic or other form; and (d) will not distribute, disclose, or otherwise cause the distribution of any Noodles & Company Confidential Information.
If you or your Owners cease to have an interest in Franchisee, you and your Owners, if any, must deliver to Noodles & Company any such Confidential Information in your or their possession.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 99–350)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Noodles & Company Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees and their owners may gain access to Noodles & Company's confidential information as a result of investing in the franchise. This confidential information is considered proprietary and includes Noodles & Company's trade secrets.
Franchisees and their owners must agree to maintain the confidentiality of this information while they have a legal or beneficial ownership interest in the franchise, and indefinitely thereafter. This includes exerting best efforts to maintain confidentiality, not making unauthorized copies, and not distributing or disclosing the confidential information. They are prohibited from using the confidential information in any other business or capacity, as such use would be considered an unfair method of competition.
If a franchisee or their owners cease to have an interest in the Noodles & Company franchise, they must return any confidential information in their possession to Noodles & Company. This ensures that the trade secrets and proprietary information remain protected, even after the franchise relationship ends. These measures are typical in franchising to protect the brand's competitive advantage and operational methods.