Cookie Co

The vendor opportunity at Cookie Co

Cookie Co is a quick-service restaurant brand based in Utah, with 12 total locations as of its 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document. Of those, 8 are franchised and 4 are company-owned. The brand does not disclose average unit volume in its FDD, and year-over-year unit growth is not reported. For a software vendor, the immediate addressable market is small: 8 franchised locations, plus potential influence over the 4 corporate stores. The royalty rate is 7.0%, and the initial franchise term is 10 years.

This is an early-stage concept. The small unit count means every location matters, and a vendor who lands a deal now could become entrenched as the system scales. The mandated POS system is Heartland, which signals a baseline technology footprint that any new software must either integrate with or replace.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2024 FDD names three executives in Item 1: Elise Thomas, Founder and Chief Executive Officer; Matthew Thomas, President; and Ivan Smith, Chief Operating Officer. No chief information officer, chief technology officer, or dedicated procurement lead is listed. In a system this small, software purchasing authority almost certainly sits with this core leadership group. Vendors should expect a direct, relationship-driven sales process rather than a formal RFP or IT gatekeeper structure.

Mandated and current tech stack

Cookie Co mandates Heartland as its point-of-sale system. The FDD does not list any other required or recommended technology vendors. This means Heartland is the single known incumbent for in-store operations. For vendors selling adjacent solutions—inventory management, labor scheduling, loyalty, delivery integration, or accounting—the integration landscape is defined by Heartland’s APIs and partner ecosystem. No online ordering, payment processing, or back-office systems are disclosed in the FDD, leaving the full tech stack largely unknown to outside observers.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Cookie Co’s 2024 FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so the brand’s procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not publicly disclosed. Franchisees may have some autonomy in purchasing non-mandated technology, but the small size of the system and the centralized executive team suggest that major software decisions are made or heavily influenced at headquarters.

Franchise agreements run for 10 years. Item 17 outlines renewal conditions: franchisees must be in compliance with their agreement, give 180 days’ prior written notice, sign the then-current form of Franchise Agreement, execute a general release, pay a renewal fee, remodel the shop to current standards, and secure continued occupancy rights. Owners must also personally guarantee the renewal agreement. With only 8 franchised units and no disclosed growth rate, renewal-driven software evaluation windows will be rare. Vendors should focus on new-unit openings or proactive outreach to HQ rather than waiting for renewal cycles.

How to read the Cookie Co FDD

The full 2024 Cookie Co Franchise Disclosure Document is available below. It contains the legal and operational disclosures that define the franchise relationship, including Item 1 (executives), Item 11 (mandated technology), Item 8 (procurement, if disclosed), and Item 17 (renewal and transfer terms). For software vendors, the FDD is the most reliable public source of information on who buys technology, what is already installed, and how the franchise system is structured. Use it to qualify the account before you build a pitch.

For a ranked list of franchise systems that match your software category and ideal customer profile, FranCloud can help you prioritize your outbound efforts.