Can Nothing Bundt Cakes require a franchisee to ship cakes outside of their territory?

According to Nothing Bundt Cakes' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees may be required to ship cakes outside of their territory. Specifically, Nothing Bundt Cakes may require a franchisee to ship cakes from their bakery to locations outside of their territory. This obligation is tied to participation in the E-Commerce Program.

This requirement means that a franchisee could be responsible for fulfilling orders for customers located in areas where they might not otherwise operate. This could add complexity to inventory management, staffing, and logistics, as the franchisee must be prepared to handle orders from a broader geographic area. It also means that Nothing Bundt Cakes retains significant control over e-commerce fulfillment, directing orders to specific bakeries as they see fit.

However, the FDD also states that franchisees can deliver and ship products to guests located outside of their territory, provided that the guest is not located within the territory of another open Nothing Bundt Cakes bakery. If a guest is located within a territory subsequently sold to another franchisee, the original franchisee must immediately cease delivering or shipping products to such guest and transfer all guest account information upon request of the bakery owner. Franchisees are also prohibited from knowingly delivering, selling, or shipping products within any other open bakery's territory, or a corporate territory owned and operated by Nothing Bundt Cakes or its affiliates. Violations of this policy require the franchisee to remit all net revenues earned from the sale to the franchisee whose territory was infringed upon, and make a $500 contribution to the Production Fund per violation.

These stipulations highlight the importance of understanding the terms and conditions of the E-Commerce Program and territorial rights. Prospective franchisees should carefully consider the potential impact of these requirements on their bakery's operations and profitability, and should seek clarification from Nothing Bundt Cakes regarding the criteria used to determine which bakery fulfills e-commerce orders.