Apple Pay
Mandatoryfiliates, or designated Approved Suppliers. We require you to accept major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) and other major payment methods (such as Apple Pay and Google
From the filings
+30.739% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Cinnabon
Retail foodSoftware purchasing at Cinnabon is controlled at the franchisor level, with P2PE software mandated across all 1,338 US locations. The brand operates 1,310 franchised and 28 company-owned units, generating an average unit volume of $665,401. For software vendors, this represents a concentrated addressable market with a single, HQ-driven decision point.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
1,338
1,310 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+30.739%
vs prior filing
AUV
$665K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2.5%
national + local
Initial fee
$36K
per unit
Investment range
$257K–$704K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing
Ongoing fee load
What the operator pays every month
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
8.5%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
2 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
Google Pay
Mandatoryesignated Approved Suppliers. We require you to accept major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) and other major payment methods (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay) for cust
DoorDash
ding delivery fees and other service charges, that are paid to you by a customer or by a third-party delivery or catering service (e.g., Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub, ezCater, or DoorDash) (a “TPS”)
ezCater
fees, including delivery fees and other service charges, that are paid to you by a customer or by a third-party delivery or catering service (e.g., Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub, ezCater, or DoorDash)
Facebook
, photographs, give-away items, and gift cards. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, X, Instagr
Grubhub
harges or fees, including delivery fees and other service charges, that are paid to you by a customer or by a third-party delivery or catering service (e.g., Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub, ezCater, or
Instagram
, give-away items, and gift cards. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest
Pinterest
items, and gift cards. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat,
Postmates
ancillary charges or fees, including delivery fees and other service charges, that are paid to you by a customer or by a third-party delivery or catering service (e.g., Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub,
Snapchat
gift cards. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, Ti
TikTok
l Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, etc.), appli
Uber Eats
nclude all ancillary charges or fees, including delivery fees and other service charges, that are paid to you by a customer or by a third-party delivery or catering service (e.g., Uber Eats, Postmates
YouTube
s. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, etc
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 6 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?
YesFranchise agreement
In addition, we and our affiliates, through the Computer System or otherwise, have the right to independently access the Customer Information.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We are currently an approved supplier of ASL mobile carts, but we will no longer sell such carts once our existing inventory is sold.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
We do not have an advertising council composed of franchisees that is involved in decision making on advertising issues, but the Cinnabon Franchise Advisory Council (“FAC”) provides us suggestions on advertising issues.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may add or change Approved Suppliers at any time.
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?
90Item 8
Currently, we estimate that your purchases from Approved Suppliers and otherwise under our Standards will be about 85% of the total purchases and lease of products and services needed to establish the Bakery and about 90% of the total purchases and leases of products and services needed to operate a Bakery.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
You must pay us a charge not to exceed the reasonable cost of the inspection and our actual cost of testing the proposed Goods or evaluating the proposed Supplier, including personnel and travel costs, whether or not the Goods or Supplier is approved.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you would like to offer products or use any Goods that we have not approved or to purchase or lease from a Supplier that we have not approved, you must submit a written request for approval and provide us with any information that we request.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
You acknowledge that as between you and us, we have the sole rights to and interest in all Identifiers.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You must abide by: (a) the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (“PCI-DSS”) enacted by the applicable Card Associations (as they may be modified from time to time or as successor standards are adopted) and all Laws, standards, or any equivalent thereof relating to the collection, use, and security of…
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesFranchise agreement
We also may require you to participate in customer satisfaction surveys or other audit programs, including electronically through the use of telecommunications devices or otherwise, to assess your compliance with our customer service standards.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We may make additions to, deletions from, and modifications to the Manuals (“Supplements”), Standards, or System from time to time in any form or fashion
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You may not acquire the Accepted Location until we have accepted it.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
You must spend the Grand Opening Obligation on grand opening advertising promoting your Bakery during the period beginning 90 days before you open the Bakery and ending 90 days after you open the Bakery.
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
Currently, to satisfy your Local Marketing Obligation, each calendar quarter, you must spend on local market advertising a reasonable amount you determine but not less than 1% of your Net Sales.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 16
You must participate in the Gift Card and Loyalty Programs that we establish, and you must have available for sale to customers a sufficient number of gift cards to meet the demands of your Bakery.
Operations
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase these items only from an Approved Supplier unless we specify otherwise.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
We also require you to use designated Approved Suppliers for point-to-point encryption (“P2PE”) solutions (hardware and software) that are used in cooperation with your POS System to provide secure and compliant payment processing services.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
We collect all fees due to us under the Franchise Agreement through EFT.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 16
You must participate in the Gift Card and Loyalty Programs that we establish, and you must have available for sale to customers a sufficient number of gift cards to meet the demands of your Bakery.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesFranchise agreement
Your Franchised Business must employ at least two Managers who have successfully completed the Management Training Program and are dedicated to the Franchised Business.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all of your requirements of Proprietary Ingredients, Proprietary Products, and proprietary uniforms, signs, menu boards, smallwares, materials, supplies, paper goods, equipment, and packaging (collectively, the “Proprietary Goods”) from us, our affiliates, or our designated Approved Suppliers.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
To maintain a consistent reporting system, you must purchase or lease and use a POS System specified by us from a designated Approved Supplier.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have independent electronic and manual access to certain information within the POS System and there are no contractual limitations on our right to access this information.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may charge a reasonable fee (which we expect typically to range from $0 to $2,500) for these additional programs to cover our costs of providing them.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
Your Required Trainees, Primary Contact, Owners, and other personnel we designate must attend any Additional Programs that we require.
The filing answers no to 3 questions
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Franchise agreement
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?Item 8
The vendor opportunity at Cinnabon
Cinnabon operates 1,338 US locations, 1,310 of which are franchised. The brand added units at a 30.7% year-over-year clip, signaling an expanding footprint for software vendors targeting retail food. Average unit volume sits at $665,401, and the royalty rate is 6.0%. The franchisor is not a subsidiary of a larger parent company, so purchasing decisions are made within Cinnabon’s own leadership structure.
The operator base is entirely single-unit: 122 mapped franchisees each run one location. No multi-unit operators appear in the FDD. Top states by unit count are Texas (33), Nebraska (10), North Carolina (8), South Carolina (7), and Arkansas (6). This fragmented operator profile means franchisees are unlikely to drive independent software adoption—vendors must sell into HQ.
Who controls software purchasing
Cinnabon’s 2026 FDD lists five executives in Item 1. Omer Gajial serves as Chief Executive Officer. Brett Ubl is Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Assistant Secretary. Urvi Patel holds the title of Chief Brand Officer for Cinnabon and Senior Vice President, Brands for GoTo Foods. Tim Goodman is Senior Vice President, Franchise Administration, and Chris Newman is Senior Vice President, Real Estate.
No Chief Information Officer or Chief Technology Officer is named. The absence of a dedicated technology executive suggests that software purchasing authority rests with the CEO and CFO, likely in consultation with the Chief Brand Officer. For vendors, the initial outreach should target the finance and brand leadership functions, as they appear to control operational mandates.
Mandated and current tech stack
The only technology mandate disclosed in the 2026 FDD is P2PE software. Point-to-point encryption is required across the system, which is consistent with a retail food brand processing high-volume card-present transactions. No specific POS platform, back-office system, or loyalty vendor is named. This does not mean none exist—only that the FDD does not require their disclosure.
Vendors selling complementary or adjacent software should note the P2PE requirement as a baseline integration constraint. Any solution that touches payment data must operate within a P2PE-compliant environment. Beyond that, the tech stack appears open, with no additional mandated systems on file.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD does not include a procurement extract in the available data. Without that disclosure, it is not possible to determine whether Cinnabon uses a designated supplier model, an approved supplier list, or an open procurement framework. Vendors should prepare for a range of scenarios, from centralized purchasing to franchisee-level discretion within HQ guidelines.
Item 17, which covers renewal, transfer, and termination, also lacks an extract. The initial franchise term is not disclosed. As a result, contract renewal cycles and natural software evaluation windows cannot be inferred from the FDD alone. Vendors should monitor leadership changes or public announcements for signals of technology refresh cycles.
How to read the Cinnabon FDD
The Cinnabon Franchise Disclosure Document was filed with state franchise regulators in 2026. It contains the legal and operational disclosures required under the FTC Franchise Rule. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 1 (executives), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), Item 11 (mandated technology), and Item 17 (renewal and termination).
The embedded viewer below provides the full FDD text. Focus on the mandated technology disclosures and any supplier lists to assess integration requirements and competitive landscape. When you are ready to prioritize franchise brands by tech mandate, unit growth, and decision-maker accessibility, FranCloud can generate a ranked target list for your sales team.
Questions vendors ask
Cinnabon, answered from the filing
The FDD lists Omer Gajial (CEO), Brett Ubl (CFO), and Urvi Patel (Chief Brand Officer). No dedicated CIO is named, but the C-suite controls technology mandates.
The 2026 FDD mandates P2PE software. No specific POS vendor or other operational systems are disclosed.
1,338 total units: 1,310 franchised and 28 company-owned. All 122 mapped operators are single-unit franchisees.
The FDD does not disclose a designated or approved supplier list in Item 8. The procurement model is not specified in the extract provided.
The initial term length and renewal conditions are not disclosed in the 2026 FDD extract. Contract windows cannot be estimated from available data.
The FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2026. You can review it using the embedded PDF viewer below.
Source
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FDD alert
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Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
1,297 operators run 1,297 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit1,297
Top states by locations
| NY | 9 |
|---|---|
| WA | 3 |
| DC | 1 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Cinnabon
strategic_multibrand of GoTo Foods.
Sibling brands
Related Retail food brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.