What requirements regarding insurance, indemnification, and non-disclosure must Noodles & Company's Approved Suppliers meet?
Noodles_Company Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
nts, beverages, fixtures, smallwares, furnishings, equipment, uniforms, supplies, services, menus, packaging, forms, paper products, software, modems and peripheral equipment and other products and equipment other than Proprietary Products that you must use and/or offer and sell at the Restaurant ("Non-Proprietary Products"). You may use, offer or sell only such Non-Proprietary Products that we have expressly authorized, and such products must be purchased or obtained from a producer, manufacturer, supplier or service provider that we have approved ("Approved Supplier") or an Alternative Approved Supplier that we have designated or approved pursuant to Section 9.04 (b) below.
- (a) Each such Approved Supplier designated or approved by us must comply with our usual and customary requirements regarding insurance, indemnification, and non-disclosure, and shall have demonstrated to our reasonable satisfaction: (i) its ability to supply a Non-Proprietary Product meeting our specifications, which may include, without limitation, specifications as to brand name, contents, manner of preparation, ingredients, quality, freshness and compliance with governmental standards and regulations; and (ii) its reliability with respect to delivery and the consistent quality of its products and services.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 99–350)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Noodles & Company's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, each Approved Supplier must meet the brand's standard requirements for insurance, indemnification, and non-disclosure. These suppliers must also demonstrate their ability to consistently provide Non-Proprietary Products that meet Noodles & Company's specifications. These specifications may include brand name, contents, preparation, ingredients, quality, freshness, and compliance with all governmental standards and regulations.
Approved Suppliers must also prove their reliability in terms of product delivery and consistent quality of both their products and services. If a franchisee wants to use a different supplier, they must seek approval from Noodles & Company.
Noodles & Company may also require a supplier to agree in writing to provide free samples of Non-Proprietary Products upon request, comply with Noodles & Company's specifications for applicable Non-Proprietary Products, sell products bearing Noodles & Company's marks only to franchisees under a trademark license agreement, provide duplicate purchase invoices, make products available to all Noodles & Company restaurants, and comply with other reasonable requests.