The store must be equipped with the computer systems, hardware (including but not limited to cash registers, mobile devices, and tablets), software, electronics, communications equipment, point of sale systems, self-checkout systems, transaction systems, automated systems, robotics, applications, and technologies (collectively, the “Computer Systems”) that we require. Our affiliate will equip the store with an electronic cash register that records data on all sales at the store, and such equipment will be part of the rent. Other Computer Systems our affiliate will provide are listed on Exhibit E. To improve the customer experience, reduce wait times, and reduce the burden on your employees, you must implement our approved self- checkout Computer System. Self-checkout stations must be open and available for customer use during all business hours. (Franchise Agreement Section 8(c)) We will install additional Computer Systems as we deem necessary to assist in automating certain functions in the store. The Computer Systems that our affiliate installs are part of the proprietary Caroco System.
From the filings
Caroco
Retail foodCaroco is a retail food franchise with a single franchised location and no company-owned stores. Software purchasing is controlled at the corporate level by executives named in the 2026 FDD, including CEO Marvin Barnes and President M. Lee Barnes, Jr. The addressable market is one franchised unit, but the FDD's technology and supplier clauses define a strict, HQ-driven procurement environment.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ordinary royalty terms
Complete royalty terms unconfirmed
Complete royalty terms are not confirmed for the selected filing.
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.
The store must be equipped with the computer systems, hardware (including but not limited to cash registers, mobile devices, and tablets), software, electronics, communications equipment, point of sale systems, self-checkout systems, transaction systems, automated systems, robotics, applications, and technologies (collectively, the “Computer Systems”) that we require. Our affiliate will equip the store with an electronic cash register that records data on all sales at the store, and such equipment will be part of the rent. Other Computer Systems our affiliate will provide are listed on Exhibit E. To improve the customer experience, reduce wait times, and reduce the burden on your employees, you must implement our approved self- checkout Computer System. Self-checkout stations must be open and available for customer use during all business hours. (Franchise Agreement Section 8(c)) We will install additional Computer Systems as we deem necessary to assist in automating certain functions in the store. The Computer Systems that our affiliate installs are part of the proprietary Caroco System.
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
22 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 9 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You will be required to use the bookkeeping and financial services vendors we designate.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We have the free and unfettered right to retrieve any data and information from your Computer Systems, including video cameras, as we, in our sole discretion, deem appropriate, including electronically polling the daily sales, video camera footage, and other data of the franchised business.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
You must consign, purchase, or lease all products and services you use in the franchised business from us or a source we approve.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We have the right to change our business relationship with our approved vendors as well as the right to add and/or remove approved vendors from the approved vendor list, at any time.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We may receive other payments, fees, rebates, commissions, and reimbursements from approved vendors and others as a result of your orders of consigned inventory, supplies, and merchandise that they supply, and this may result in higher costs of goods sold.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
97Item 8
of products from the Recommended Vendors or other authorized vendors, including us and our affiliates, will 6120838v1.AJD.25647.G57927 Page 33 ©2026 Family Fare, LLC represent between 97% and 100% of your or the store’s overall purchases in establishing and operating a Caroco store.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 6
or Vendor Evaluation one may be a good, service, or implemented vendor that we have not previously approved, we reserve the right to charge you a fee for our review.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to use a good, service, or vendor that we have not approved, you must first submit to us key information and possibly samples.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 11
(Franchise Agreement Section 10) We will obtain a phone number for the store.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
cards as a method of payment at your store, you must comply with payment card infrastructure (“PCI”) industry and government requirements.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
Our affiliate or its agent may conduct physical audits of the store’s inventory up to four times in a calendar year at no cost to you.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
Revisions to the Brand Standards Manual will be made in our sole discretion. Inventory and Supplies.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
The location of the store you franchise is designated in the franchise agreement before you sign the agreement.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
You may not establish or operate an Online Presence (including a website, webpage, domain name, Internet address, social media account, blog, forum, advertisement, e-commerce site) or email address that in any way concerns, discusses, or alludes to us, the Caroco System, or the store without our written consent.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
Where we have designated an approved vendor, you must use that vendor.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must consign, purchase, or lease all products and services you use in the franchised business from us or a source we approve.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You are required to use the credit card processing service we approve.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 16
You must accept or participate in all required payment systems, including but not limited to various currencies, credit cards, charge cards, gift cards, gift certificates, and coupons.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
The store must be equipped with the computer systems, hardware (including but not limited to cash registers, mobile devices, and tablets), software, electronics, communications equipment, point of sale systems, self-checkout systems, transaction systems, automated systems, robotics, applications, and technologies…
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We have the free and unfettered right to retrieve any data and information from your Computer Systems, including video cameras, as we, in our sole discretion, deem appropriate, including electronically polling the daily sales, video camera footage, and other data of the franchised business.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
If you request any additional training from us, we have the right to require you to pay our then- current additional training fee.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 11
Your Operating Principal and, if requested, your owners, are required to attend all conferences and other required training courses and cannot delegate this obligation to non-shareholder managers or other employees.
The filing answers no to 3 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
The vendor opportunity at Caroco
Caroco operates a single franchised retail food location, with no company-owned units. The 2026 FDD reports 1 franchised outlet and 0 company-owned locations, with franchised-outlet growth of 0.0% year over year. This is a nascent system, so the immediate software opportunity is limited to one franchisee plus any future franchise sales. However, the franchisor's control over technology and procurement means a vendor that wins Caroco's approval could be positioned for system-wide adoption as the brand grows.
Who controls software purchasing
Item 2 of the FDD names the leadership team: Marvin Barnes (Chief Executive Officer), M. Lee Barnes, Jr., PhD, MA, MBA, SHRM-SCP (President and Sole Manager), Jesse B. A. Daughtridge (Vice President and Chief Financial Officer), Rob Carney (Regional Vice President of Operations, West), and Ron Gibson (Regional Vice President of Operations, East). The franchisor sets technology requirements and designates suppliers, so software purchasing decisions are made at the corporate level, not by the individual franchisee.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
Item 11 of the FDD requires franchisees to equip their store with computer systems, hardware (including cash registers, mobile devices, and tablets), software, electronics, communications equipment, point of sale systems, self-checkout systems, transaction systems, automated systems, robotics, applications, and technologies that the franchisor specifies. Franchisees must also acquire a time clock, tablet computer, and a functioning cell phone with text-message capability, all meeting franchisor standards. The franchisor's affiliate may be the designated vendor of the time clock and tablet computer. Franchisees and staff must use these computer systems to access e-training on the franchisor's approved platform.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD establishes a designated-supplier model. Franchisees must consign, purchase, or lease all products and services from the franchisor or an approved source. Where a vendor is designated, franchisees must use that vendor. The franchisor may fine a franchisee up to $2,000 plus attorneys' fees per occurrence for failing to use designated vendors. Designated areas include store premises and equipment leased from an affiliate, certain computer systems, the time clock, security cameras, consigned proprietary products, ATMs, vending machines, sanitation systems, and drug testing. Franchisees may propose a supplier for approval.
The initial franchise term is 5 years, with one 5-year renewal term available if the franchisee is in good standing, gives notice four to six months before expiration, has no more than 2 defaults in the prior 24 months, and executes a general release.
How to read the Caroco FDD
The embedded PDF below is Caroco's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. For software vendors, the key sections are Item 8 (supplier restrictions and designated vendors), Item 11 (technology requirements and training), Item 17 (renewal and transfer terms), and Item 19 (financial performance representations — this FDD makes none). Item 2 lists the officers who control purchasing. With only one franchised unit, the sales cycle is short but the gatekeepers are clear. Talk to FranCloud for a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category.
Ordinary royalty terms
Complete royalty terms are not confirmed.
Questions vendors ask
Caroco, answered from the filing
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Ownership
The portfolio behind Caroco
Ownership: M. M. FOWLER, INC..
Related Retail food brands
Primary franchise filings · updated October 2026. Read the original filing for definitions, conditions, and qualifications.