We have the right, in our sole discretion, to prohibit you from conducting any advertising over the Internet. (Franchise Agreement, Section 8.04). You must not promote, offer, or sell any products or services related to the Franchised Business through the Internet, or use the Proprietary Marks in any Internet domain name, electronic mail address or home page address or in the operation of any Web Site without our prior written consent. The term “Web Site” means an interactive electronic document contained in a network of computers linked by communications software, commonly referred to as the Internet or World Wide Web, including social and business networking media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and online blogs and forums. We will approve or disapprove a Web Site, in our sole discretion, within five days after we receive your request. In connection with any such approval, we may establish such requirements as we deem appropriate, including, among others, the requirements that: (i) you submit to us, for our prior written approval, a sample of any proposed Web Site for your Abbott’s Stand, domain name, home page address, format, and visible (including proposed screen shots and any text, video clips, photographs, images, sound bites or other materials in which any third party has any ownership interest) and non-visible content (including meta-tags) in the form and manner that we may reasonably require; (ii) you establish hyperlinks to our Web Site and others as we may require, and obtain our prior written approval of your use of any other hyperlinks and/or other links; and (iii) you submit to us for our prior written approval any modifications to your Web Site. We may revoke our approval of your Web Site at any time and require you to discontinue your use of it. In addition to any other applicable requirements, you must comply with any standards and specifications we develop that are applicable to Web Sites, as set forth in the Manual or otherwise in writing, which standards and specifications we may modify from time to time. We may designate the form and content of your Web Site and may require that any such Web Site be hosted by us or a third party whom we designate. We also may charge you a fee for developing, reviewing and approving your Web Site and/or hosting it. You must not permit any third party to use any of the Proprietary Marks in connection with any Web Site and/or as part of any Internet domain name or electronic mail or home page address, without our prior written consent. (Franchise Agreement, Section 10.11).
From the filings
Abbott's Frozen Custard
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Abbott's Frozen Custard is controlled at the HQ level by a small executive team led by President Gail L. Drew and CEO Robert J. Amico. The most recent FDD does not disclose any mandated or recommended technology systems, presenting a greenfield opportunity. The addressable market is compact, with 27 total units, 21 of which are franchised.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ordinary royalty terms
5.5% component; full terms unconfirmed
Complete royalty terms are not confirmed for the selected filing.
Recorded percentage components
These are recorded percentage components. Each has its own base and conditions; the chart does not state the total payment or confirm ad-fund completeness.
1recorded components (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.
We have the right, in our sole discretion, to prohibit you from conducting any advertising over the Internet. (Franchise Agreement, Section 8.04). You must not promote, offer, or sell any products or services related to the Franchised Business through the Internet, or use the Proprietary Marks in any Internet domain name, electronic mail address or home page address or in the operation of any Web Site without our prior written consent. The term “Web Site” means an interactive electronic document contained in a network of computers linked by communications software, commonly referred to as the Internet or World Wide Web, including social and business networking media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and online blogs and forums. We will approve or disapprove a Web Site, in our sole discretion, within five days after we receive your request. In connection with any such approval, we may establish such requirements as we deem appropriate, including, among others, the requirements that: (i) you submit to us, for our prior written approval, a sample of any proposed Web Site for your Abbott’s Stand, domain name, home page address, format, and visible (including proposed screen shots and any text, video clips, photographs, images, sound bites or other materials in which any third party has any ownership interest) and non-visible content (including meta-tags) in the form and manner that we may reasonably require; (ii) you establish hyperlinks to our Web Site and others as we may require, and obtain our prior written approval of your use of any other hyperlinks and/or other links; and (iii) you submit to us for our prior written approval any modifications to your Web Site. We may revoke our approval of your Web Site at any time and require you to discontinue your use of it. In addition to any other applicable requirements, you must comply with any standards and specifications we develop that are applicable to Web Sites, as set forth in the Manual or otherwise in writing, which standards and specifications we may modify from time to time. We may designate the form and content of your Web Site and may require that any such Web Site be hosted by us or a third party whom we designate. We also may charge you a fee for developing, reviewing and approving your Web Site and/or hosting it. You must not permit any third party to use any of the Proprietary Marks in connection with any Web Site and/or as part of any Internet domain name or electronic mail or home page address, without our prior written consent. (Franchise Agreement, Section 10.11).
We have the right, in our sole discretion, to prohibit you from conducting any advertising over the Internet. (Franchise Agreement, Section 8.04). You must not promote, offer, or sell any products or services related to the Franchised Business through the Internet, or use the Proprietary Marks in any Internet domain name, electronic mail address or home page address or in the operation of any Web Site without our prior written consent. The term “Web Site” means an interactive electronic document contained in a network of computers linked by communications software, commonly referred to as the Internet or World Wide Web, including social and business networking media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and online blogs and forums. We will approve or disapprove a Web Site, in our sole discretion, within five days after we receive your request. In connection with any such approval, we may establish such requirements as we deem appropriate, including, among others, the requirements that: (i) you submit to us, for our prior written approval, a sample of any proposed Web Site for your Abbott’s Stand, domain name, home page address, format, and visible (including proposed screen shots and any text, video clips, photographs, images, sound bites or other materials in which any third party has any ownership interest) and non-visible content (including meta-tags) in the form and manner that we may reasonably require; (ii) you establish hyperlinks to our Web Site and others as we may require, and obtain our prior written approval of your use of any other hyperlinks and/or other links; and (iii) you submit to us for our prior written approval any modifications to your Web Site. We may revoke our approval of your Web Site at any time and require you to discontinue your use of it. In addition to any other applicable requirements, you must comply with any standards and specifications we develop that are applicable to Web Sites, as set forth in the Manual or otherwise in writing, which standards and specifications we may modify from time to time. We may designate the form and content of your Web Site and may require that any such Web Site be hosted by us or a third party whom we designate. We also may charge you a fee for developing, reviewing and approving your Web Site and/or hosting it. You must not permit any third party to use any of the Proprietary Marks in connection with any Web Site and/or as part of any Internet domain name or electronic mail or home page address, without our prior written consent. (Franchise Agreement, Section 10.11).
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
18 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 5 explicit no's; 11 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to the information and data on sales recorded on your point-of-sale system.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesItem 6
You must regularly submit to us certain information: weekly, monthly, and yearly sales reports and yearly financial statements and tax returns.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We are currently the only approved supplier for all of these products.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
1875281Item 8
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2025, we had approximately $4,969,106 in total revenues and approximately $1,875,281 in revenues from franchisees’ required purchases of goods and services, or 38% of our total revenues.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
In addition, we receive rebates from Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc. for your purchases of custard mix or yogurt ($0.886 per gallon).
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
A charge not to exceed our reasonable cost of inspection and the actual cost of testing must be paid by the supplier or you.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you desire to purchase any such items from an unapproved supplier, you must submit to us a written request for approval or must request the supplier itself to seek approval.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
We will inspect the Franchised Business and its operations, as we deem appropriate (Franchise Agreement, Section 9.08).
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may from time-to-time revise the Manual and Franchisee agrees to adhere to and abide by all such revisions.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor grants to Franchisee a franchise to open and operate an Abbott’s frozen custard retail stand (the “Unit” or “Franchised Unit”) only at and from the location identified in Exhibit “A” (the “Approved Location”).
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
During the first year of operations of your Abbott’s Stand, you must spend a minimum of $5,000 on various marketing initiatives, in consultation with us.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
During the first year of operations of your Abbott’s Stand, you must spend a minimum of $5,000 on various marketing initiatives, in consultation with us.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase all such required equipment from our approved equipment suppliers, whose names we will provide.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 11
You must purchase all such required equipment from our approved equipment suppliers, whose names we will provide.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 6
Our required point-of-sale system includes a gateway connection to our approved credit card processor, with whom we have negotiated a favorable rate for all Abbott’s Stands.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
Under the Franchise Agreement, you must record all sales on the point-of-sale system we require.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to the information and data on sales recorded on your point-of-sale system.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to charge you a fee to cover the cost of conducting such mandatory training programs.
The filing answers no to 5 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?Franchise agreement
- Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?Item 11
The vendor opportunity at Abbott's Frozen Custard
Abbott's Frozen Custard is a compact quick-service restaurant chain with 27 total units, 21 of which are franchised and 6 company-owned. The brand posted an average unit volume (AUV) of $323,276 in its 2026 FDD. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is the 21 franchised locations, though the six corporate stores represent a potential entry point for an HQ-led deployment. Unit growth contracted by 12.5% year-over-year, meaning the total store count is shrinking, not expanding. This makes net-new location sales a difficult path; instead, vendors should focus on displacing incumbent manual processes or undocumented legacy tools at existing units.
With a declining footprint, the franchisor may be receptive to technology that improves unit-level profitability or simplifies compliance without requiring heavy capital expenditure from franchisees. The absence of any disclosed tech mandates in the FDD suggests that franchisees currently operate with significant autonomy over their software choices, or that the franchisor has not formalized a technology program.
Who controls software purchasing
Decision-making authority rests with a small HQ team. The 2026 FDD lists Gail L. Drew as President, Robert J. Amico as Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, and Brenden Drew as Chief Development Officer. Joseph Orden serves as Director of Franchise Operations, and Crystal Sampsell is Director of Corporate Retail Operations. No dedicated technology or IT executive is named, which is consistent with a brand of this size. For a vendor, the initial outreach should target the President or CEO for strategic software that impacts the entire system. The Director of Franchise Operations is the likely day-to-day buyer for tools that affect franchisee compliance, training, or operational audits.
Because no parent company is on file and the brand appears independently owned, there is no larger enterprise IT organization to navigate. The buying process will be direct and relationship-driven.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 FDD does not identify any mandated or recommended technology systems. This is a critical data point: it means there is no incumbent POS provider, no required inventory management platform, and no specified online ordering system disclosed in the franchise disclosure document. For a software vendor, this represents a blank slate. The absence of a mandate also means that any sale must win over both the franchisor and individual franchisees unless the franchisor is willing to impose a new standard.
Vendors should approach this as a displacement of whatever ad-hoc tools franchisees currently use—likely consumer-grade spreadsheets, standalone payment terminals, or basic POS systems chosen independently. The corporate stores may use a different stack than franchised locations, but that information is not disclosed in the FDD.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD, which typically outlines procurement restrictions and designated suppliers, did not yield an extract in our corpus. This means the franchisor's formal purchasing controls are not documented in the data we have on file. Vendors should request the full FDD to review Item 8 directly and determine whether franchisees are required to buy from approved suppliers or if they have open purchasing discretion.
Renewal conditions, detailed in Item 17, provide a window into when franchisees face mandatory upgrades. To renew for a successive 10-year term, a franchisee must modernize the premises as the franchisor reasonably requires and sign the then-current franchise agreement, which may contain materially different terms. This modernization clause is the lever that could force technology adoption. However, with only 21 franchised units and a negative growth rate, renewal cycles will be infrequent. The renewal fee is set at one-quarter of the then-current initial franchise fee.
How to read the Abbott's Frozen Custard FDD
The full FDD is embedded below. For software vendors, the most important items are Item 8 (procurement restrictions), Item 11 (franchisor's assistance, including technology requirements), and Item 17 (renewal and modernization obligations). Because our extract shows no tech mandates, you should verify Item 11 directly to confirm whether any systems are recommended but not required. The executive list in Item 1 identifies your buyer personas. Cross-reference Item 8 with the renewal conditions in Item 17 to build a timeline for when franchisees will be compelled to upgrade their operations. For a ranked target list of franchise brands matched to your software category, FranCloud can help.
Ordinary royalty terms
Complete royalty terms are not confirmed.
Questions vendors ask
Abbott's Frozen Custard, answered from the filing
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Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
21 operators run 25 mapped locations. 2 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| NY | 8 |
|---|---|
| TX | 5 |
| FL | 4 |
| SC | 3 |
| NC | 2 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Read the original filing for definitions, conditions, and qualifications.