From the filings

HQ-led decisions

Duff's Cake Mix

Retail food

Duff's Cake Mix's most recent FDD, from 2023, discloses 2 locations, both company-owned, on a 10-year initial term and a 6.0% royalty, which keeps software purchasing at a small California headquarters. Item 1 names Pamela Fazio as Chief Executive Officer and Stephen P. Radar as a Board Member; no CIO or CTO is disclosed, and the brand is part of Camp Cake. The only mandated name in the filing is Sysco, a distributor — no technology is required, and Clover is named in the document without anything obliging its use.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
2
0 franchised
Unit growth YoY
vs prior filing
AUV
Item 19, 2023
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$45K
per unit
Investment range
$272K–$415K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
No 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.

7%of gross sales (FY2023)

Ongoing fees: 7% of gross sales (FY2023)Royalty 6%, Ad fund 1%. Total 7% of gross sales. Drawn against a 15% reference scale.

15% reference

Royalty 6%Ad fund 1%

Mandated & recommended tech

The systems vendors compete with

1 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.

Sysco
Mandatory
InventoryItem 11

provide you with a list of our approved suppliers and distributors, either as part of the Manuals or otherwise in writing. Our designated suppliers of the System Supplies include Sysco, Edward Don & C

Clover
POSItem 11

Decorate Day 3 Customer Service, POS, Organizing 0 5 Irvine, California Operations & Guest Interactions Closing Procedures, Troubleshooting, 0 3 Irvine, California and Recap Day 4 Clover Reports, Cate

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

Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

At all times, Franchisee shall exclusively use the Business Management Systems designated by Franchisor, in Franchisor’s Reasonable Business Judgment, and as may be modified, supplemented or replaced by Franchisor from time to time.

Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?

Yes

Franchise agreement

At all times, Franchisee shall provide and permit Franchisor to maintain direct and independent access to the Business Management System and Franchisee shall electronically transfer and transmit to Franchisor all Business Management System Data;

Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

within 30 days of the end of each calendar month Franchisee shall submit to Franchisor monthly financial statements and other reports related to the operations of the Franchised business including, but not limited to, income statement, statement of cash flows, balance sheet, and other operational reports designated…

How the franchisor buys

Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?

Yes

Item 8

We may designate a supplier, including ourselves or our affiliates, as the exclusive supplier for the System.

How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?

0

Item 8

As of the Issuance Date of this Disclosure Document we have not received revenue from suppliers from franchisee purchases of source restricted products or services.

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?

30

Item 8

approximately 30% of the on-going operating expenses of the Franchised Business.

Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?

Yes

Item 8

We may charge you a fee equal to the costs and expenses that we incur in reviewing and evaluating an alternate supplier, product, and/or service requested by you.

Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?

Yes

Item 8

If you want to purchase or lease a source restricted item from a supplier that has not been previously approved or designated by us in writing, you must send us a written request for approval and submit additional information, samples, and testing data that we may request.

Communications

Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?

Yes

Franchise agreement

In the event of the termination of this Agreement, for any reason, that the accounts related to all telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business and all rights in and to the telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business, shall, at Franchisor’s election, be transferred to Franchisor.

Franchise management

Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor has the right at any time during business hours, and without prior notice to Franchisee, to examine or audit, or cause to be examined or audited by a third party, the business records, cash control devices, bookkeeping and accounting records, bank statements, sales and income tax records and returns, and…

Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?

Yes

Item 11

At all times, we reserve the right to supplement, modify and update the Manuals.

Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?

Yes

Item 11

Although you are responsible for selecting a site for your Studio Location you must obtain our approval of your Studio Location.

Marketing

Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?

Yes

Item 7

You must spend a minimum of $5,000 prior to the opening your Studio to promote your grand opening.

Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?

Yes

Item 11

On an on-going calendar year quarterly basis, you must spend not less than 1% of your quarterly Gross Sales on the local marketing of your Studio.

Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?

Yes

Item 11

If we elect to form a local or regional cooperative or if a cooperative already exists as to the area of your Studio, you will be required to participate in the cooperative in accordance with the provisions of our operations manual which we may supplement and modify from time to time.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Item 8

You must purchase the System Supplies, as designated by us, from us, our affiliates, and/or our designated suppliers.

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

You may only use those products, supplies, equipment, technology systems, and services that we authorize and designate in writing.

Payments

Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

Credit Card Processing – You must use our designated supplier and vendor for credit card processing which may be integrated with the point of sale system that we designate.

Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?

Yes

Item 8

You must use our designated supplier and vendor for the ability to access and use online, point of sale integrated, web based, and/or app based, ordering, customer rewards, and/or gift card systems.

People

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

For the protection of the System, you must ensure that all employees wear and maintain the proper uniforms with our approved System branded apparel and uniforms including, but not limited to, the apparel and uniforms comprising System Supplies.

Point of sale

Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

You must purchase, license and use the computer, point of sale, business management, and ordering systems that we designate.

Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?

Yes

Item 11

We will have independent access to all of the information and data that is electronically transmitted on your point of sale system and will have access to all data related to the financial performance of your Studio.

Sales and CRM

Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

“Business Management System” refers to and means the software, internet, web based and/or cloud based system or systems, point of sale system or systems and customer relationship management system or systems as same may be individually or collectively designated by us, in our Reasonable Business Judgment, as being…

Training

Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee or, if Franchisee is a Corporate Entity, Franchisee’s Managing Owner and Manager, at Franchisee’s sole cost and expense, must attend and successfully complete all refresher training courses or system-wide training courses, additional training programs and seminars as Franchisor periodically may designate…

Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?

Yes

Item 6

If we offer a franchisee annual conference in a given year you will be required to attend the conference on the dates and at the location that we designate.

The filing answers no to 3 questions
  • Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
  • Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
  • Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?Franchise agreement

The vendor opportunity at Duff's Cake Mix

Duff's Cake Mix is a retail food brand headquartered in California, and the most recent FDD on file is from 2023. That filing reports 2 total locations, both company-owned. The franchised unit count is not disclosed in the most recent FDD, average unit volume is not disclosed either, and year-over-year unit growth is not available. The royalty is 6.0% and the initial term runs ten years. Our own mapping locates 4 sites across 4 operators, none multi-unit, all in California — slightly wider than the 2 units the filing discloses, and small either way. At this size the commercial case is a design partner or a reference logo in a studio-format concept, not volume.

Who controls software purchasing

Item 1 names two people. Pamela Fazio is Chief Executive Officer and Stephen P. Radar is a Board Member. No CIO, CTO, or director of operations is disclosed in the most recent FDD, so the chief executive is the evaluator and the signer in the same seat — a short sale cycle when it goes well, and a hard one to route around when it does not. Duff's Cake Mix is part of Camp Cake; the nature of that parent relationship is not disclosed in the most recent FDD, so the holdco is a name to diligence rather than a known shared-services buyer. With both disclosed units company-owned and no multi-unit operator in the mapped footprint, there is no franchisee association and no operator tier setting its own standards. Headquarters decides.

Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required

The 2023 FDD mandates one supplier: Sysco, which the filing obliges the franchisee to use. That is a distribution relationship — food and supply — not a technology one, and it is worth separating cleanly from the software question. On technology, the filing mandates nothing. Clover appears in the document, but it is named only: nothing requires it, and a system named in an FDD tells you the drafter had payments in mind, not that an operator is contractually bound to a vendor. So point of sale sits open, and so does everything next to it — payments, accounting, scheduling, loyalty, and online ordering carry no obligation in this filing at all. What the Sysco mandate does tell a software vendor is that this franchisor will write supplier obligations when it cares about a category. Technology is not yet one of them — the moment to define a standard rather than displace one.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 is where designated-supplier and approved-supplier requirements normally sit, and this filing produced no Item 8 extract, so the formal procurement model is not established by the data we hold. The Sysco mandate is the closest evidence, and it has the shape of a designated supplier on the food side. Item 17 is detailed. The term is ten years, and renewal requires 180 days' prior written notice, compliance with the franchise agreement, signing the then-current franchise agreement and related agreements for the renewal term, a general release, a renewal fee, a remodel and upgrade of the studio to then-current standards, and continued legal right to occupy the premises. The remodel condition is the vendor-relevant one: renewal is a capital event, and capital events are when equipment and systems get re-specified.

How to read the Duff's Cake Mix FDD

The 2023 document was filed with state franchise regulators, and the full PDF is embedded in the viewer below. Item 1 gives the entity chain and the two people named above; Item 8 covers supplier obligations, including the Sysco requirement; Item 11 covers computer systems and required technology; Item 17 covers renewal and the remodel condition; Item 20 carries the unit tables. If you want Duff's Cake Mix scored against the rest of the US franchise corpus and returned as a ranked target list, talk to FranCloud.

Questions vendors ask

Duff's Cake Mix, answered from the filing

Item 1 names Pamela Fazio, Chief Executive Officer, and Stephen P. Radar, Board Member. No CIO, CTO, or operations officer is disclosed in the most recent FDD, so the chief executive is both evaluator and signer. Duff's Cake Mix is part of Camp Cake; the nature of that parent relationship is not disclosed.
No technology at all. The one mandated name in the 2023 FDD is Sysco, a distribution relationship rather than a software one. Clover appears in the filing, but nothing requires it — the FDD names it, which is not evidence the brand runs it. Point of sale and back office are open.
The 2023 FDD reports 2 total locations, both company-owned, in the retail food segment. The franchised unit count is not disclosed in the most recent FDD and year-over-year growth is not available. Our mapping locates 4 sites across 4 operators, none multi-unit, all in California.
Partly visible. Item 8 produced no extract from this filing, so designated versus approved versus open cannot be read directly. The one hard signal is the Sysco mandate: franchisees are obliged to use it, which is the shape of a designated-supplier arrangement on the food side. Technology carries no equivalent obligation.
The initial term is ten years. Renewal requires 180 days' written notice, compliance with the franchise agreement, the then-current agreement and related documents, a general release, a renewal fee, continued right to occupy the premises, and a remodel and upgrade of the studio to current standards. That remodel is the capital event to watch.
It was filed with state franchise regulators in 2023. The full PDF is embedded in the viewer below — read Item 1 for the executives and the entity chain, Item 8 for supplier obligations, Item 11 for computer systems, Item 17 for renewal, and Item 20 for the unit tables.
Source

Read the filing itself

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Duff's Cake Mix2023 FDDView only

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The brands you can actually sell into, from the filings.

Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

4 operators run 4 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit4

Top states by locations

CA4

Ownership

The portfolio behind Duff's Cake Mix

unknown of camp cake.

Related Retail food brands

Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.