From the filings

HQ-led decisions

Ugly Dumpling

Quick service restaurant

Software purchasing at Ugly Dumpling appears centralized at its New York headquarters, where Managing Member Guiyang (Tony) Wang and CFO Qingfeng Chen are the named executives. The 2023 FDD does not mandate any specific technology systems, creating a greenfield opportunity for vendors. The total unit count is not disclosed in the filing, making direct operator outreach a challenge.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
0
0 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2023
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$50K
per unit
Investment range
$427K–$1.59M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
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

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.

FacebookMeta
MarketingItem 11

similar to the Proprietary Marks. You are not permitted to promote your Restaurant or use any of the Proprietary Marks in any manner on any social or networking websites, such as Facebook, Foursquare,

InstagramMeta
MarketingItem 11

ut the Restaurant or the System, other than on a website established or authorized by us (“social media” includes personal blogs, common social networks like Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram and MySpac

LinkedInLinkedIn
MarketingItem 11

. You are not permitted to promote your Restaurant or use any of the Proprietary Marks in any manner on any social or networking websites, such as Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter,

TwitterX
MarketingItem 11

t permitted to promote your Restaurant or use any of the Proprietary Marks in any manner on any social or networking websites, such as Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter, without our

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

26 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 5 explicit no's; 3 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

We shall have the right, but not the obligation, to develop or have developed for us, or to designate: (a) computer software programs and accounting system software that you must use in connection with the Computer System (“Required Software”), which you shall install;

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

Yes

Item 11

The computer system is designed to enable us to have immediate and independent access to the information monitored by the system, and there is no contractual limitation on our access or use of the information we obtain.

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

You shall, at your expense, provide to us a complete annual financial statement (which shall be reviewed) prepared by an independent certified public accountant by April 15th of each year during the term hereof showing the results of the Restaurant’s operations during the previous calendar year.

How the franchisor buys

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

Yes

Item 11

We reserve the right to adopt new technology at any time, which may result in additional fees to you that are not currently known.

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

0

Item 8

During the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, there were no franchisees, therefore we did not receive any revenue from required purchases made by franchisees of goods, services, supplies, materials, or other products.

Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Franchise agreement

You understand and acknowledge that we may periodically receive payments from approved suppliers, such as in the form of rebates, based on such approved suppliers’ sales of products and services to our franchisees.

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?

80

Item 8

approximately 80% of your total purchases in the continuing operation of the Restaurant.

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

Yes

Item 8

You must pay our then-current evaluation fee for each product or supplier you request to have approved, and you must reimburse our reasonable costs related to our testing and inspection.

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

Yes

Item 8

If you wish to purchase, lease or use any products that we have not previously approved, or purchase or lease from a supplier we have not previously approved, you must submit a written request for approval or you must request the supplier to do so.

Communications

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

On Termination of the Franchise Agreement, if Franchisor directs Franchisee to do so, Franchisee will immediately direct all telephone companies, telephone directory publishers, and telephone directory listing agencies (collectively, the “Telephone Companies”) with which Franchisee has Telephone Numbers and Listings…

Franchise management

Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?

Yes

Franchise agreement

You shall participate in all customer surveys and satisfaction audits, which may require that you provide discounted or complimentary products, provided that such discounted or complimentary sales shall not be included in the Gross Sales of the Restaurant.

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

Yes

Item 11

As we reasonably determine necessary, visits to and evaluations of the Restaurant and the products and services provided to make sure that our high standards of quality, appearance and service of the System are maintained.

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

We may from time to time revise the contents of the Manuals and the contents of any other manuals and materials created or approved for use in the operation of the Franchised Business.

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

Yes

Item 11

You may not open your Restaurant for business until we have approved you to do so.

Marketing

Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?

Yes

Item 11

You may not maintain your own website; otherwise maintain a presence or advertise on the internet or any other mode of electronic commerce in connection with your Restaurant; establish a link to any website we establish at or from any other website or page; or at any time establish any other website, electronic…

Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?

Yes

Franchise agreement

you shall be required to spend Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) on a grand opening marketing campaign to promote the opening of the Restaurant.

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

Once you have completed the grand opening marketing campaign, you must conduct local marketing in your designated territory and you must spend at least $1,500 each month on local marketing for your Restaurant.

Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?

Yes

Franchise agreement

To issue and honor any loyalty cards that we designate or approve for the System.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Item 8

Therefore, you will use only our proprietary recipes and other proprietary products and will purchase those items solely from us or from a source designated by us.

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

You must obtain all food and beverage items, ingredients, supplies, materials, fixtures, furnishings, equipment (including point of sale system and communication systems), and other products used or offered for sale at the Restaurant solely from suppliers who demonstrate, to our continuing reasonable satisfaction…

Payments

Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?

Yes

Franchise agreement

To sell or otherwise issue gift cards or certificates (together “Gift Cards”) that have been prepared utilizing the standard form of Gift Card provided or designated by us, and only in the manner specified by us in the Manuals or otherwise in writing.

People

Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?

Yes

Item 15

While your Restaurant is open, you must have at least one certified manager on-site.

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

You must purchase or lease and install all fixtures, furnishings, equipment (including point of sales system), uniforms, décor items, signs and related items we require, all of which must conform to the standards and specifications stated in our Manual or otherwise in writing, unless you have first obtained our…

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 or lease and use certain point of sale systems, computer hardware and software that meet our specifications and that are capable of electronically interfacing with our computer system.

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

Yes

Item 11

The computer system is designed to enable us to have immediate and independent access to the information monitored by the system, and there is no contractual limitation on our access or use of the information we obtain.

Training

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

Yes

Item 11

We do not anticipate charging a fee for refresher training, but you will pay for all of the expenses incurred by your trainees, including travel, lodging, meals and wages.

The filing answers no to 5 questions
  • Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
  • Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?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
  • Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Item 11

Who buys here

The buyer at this brand

The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.

Sales LeaderEmerging 20 99

The franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.

VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
  1. 41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
  2. 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
  3. Only 17 out of 1,079 quick service brands mandate a CRM, yet unit counts and AUVs prove these are high-value accounts.Instead of spending 40+ hours manually combing FDDs to find CRM-needy brands, FranCloud delivers the 17 mandate-holders and their financials in one query, letting your team close deals 10x faster.

The vendor opportunity at Ugly Dumpling

Ugly Dumpling is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in New York. For software vendors, the brand presents an ambiguous but potentially open opportunity. The 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) does not disclose the total number of units, making it difficult to size the addressable market precisely. No franchised or company-owned unit counts are broken out, and year-over-year unit growth is not available. The brand charges a 6.0% royalty fee, but average unit volume (AUV) is not reported.

Despite the thin unit data, the absence of a mandated technology stack is the critical signal here. In many franchise systems, a mandated POS or operations platform creates a high barrier to entry. At Ugly Dumpling, no such mandate exists in the current FDD. This means the technology landscape is likely fragmented, with individual locations or the franchisor potentially open to new solutions.

Who controls software purchasing

The FDD lists five executives at the franchisor level. Guiyang (Tony) Wang serves as Managing Member, and Qingfeng Chen is the Chief Financial Officer. The remaining named individuals are Xiao Ting Zhang (Director of Sales), Liyu Lin (Director of Marketing), and Shi Qiang Ouyang (Training Manager, Front of House). No Chief Information Officer or Chief Technology Officer is on file.

In this structure, the CFO, Qingfeng Chen, is the most probable economic buyer for any software that impacts financial operations, reporting, or supply chain. The Managing Member, Tony Wang, likely holds final approval authority. For sales or marketing technology, the respective directors may be the primary champions. Vendors should prepare to engage the CFO’s office first, as financial oversight typically extends to IT spend in lean HQ teams.

Mandated and current tech stack

The 2023 FDD contains no captured data on mandated or recommended technology systems. This is a notable gap. Many franchisors use Item 11 of the FDD to list required POS hardware, software, or back-office systems. Ugly Dumpling does not. This could indicate that the franchisor has not standardized technology, or that it simply does not disclose those requirements in the FDD.

For a vendor, this lack of a mandate is a double-edged sword. It means there is no incumbent to displace at the franchisor level. However, it also means there is no forced migration event to catalyze a sale. You will likely be selling location by location, or you will need to convince the HQ team to adopt and then mandate a system for the first time.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Procurement signals are sparse. The FDD does not include an extract from Item 8, which typically outlines designated or approved suppliers. Without this, we cannot confirm whether Ugly Dumpling operates a closed procurement model or an open one. The Item 17 renewal terms and the initial franchise term length are also not disclosed in the available data. This makes it impossible to estimate when franchise agreements come up for renewal—a common trigger for technology re-evaluation.

Vendors should approach Ugly Dumpling with a consultative, HQ-first sales motion. Given the lack of mandated systems, the pitch should focus on helping the franchisor gain visibility and control over operations by standardizing on a single platform. The 6.0% royalty implies the franchisor has a direct financial interest in improving top-line sales, which a well-implemented tech stack can support.

How to read the Ugly Dumpling FDD

The 2023 Ugly Dumpling FDD is the primary source for the data points above. It was filed with state franchise regulators and contains the legal and financial disclosures required of all US franchisors. For software vendors, the most valuable items are Item 11 (the franchisor’s obligations regarding assistance, including technology), Item 8 (restrictions on sources of products and services), and Item 19 (financial performance representations, if any).

We have embedded the full FDD below. Review it to verify the absence of tech mandates and to look for any updates in subsequent years. When you are ready to build a ranked list of franchise targets based on tech stack openness, unit growth, and buyer accessibility, FranCloud can help.

Questions vendors ask

Ugly Dumpling, answered from the filing

The 2023 FDD lists Guiyang (Tony) Wang (Managing Member) and Qingfeng Chen (CFO) as key executives. With no CIO or CTO on file, the CFO likely controls or heavily influences technology procurement decisions.
The 2023 FDD does not mandate or recommend any specific POS or operational technology systems. This suggests franchisees may have autonomy in selecting their own tech stacks.
The total number of US locations is not disclosed in the 2023 FDD. The filing does not break out franchised versus company-owned unit counts.
The 2023 FDD does not include an extract from Item 8 regarding designated or approved suppliers. The procurement model for technology and other goods is not publicly specified.
The initial franchise term length and Item 17 renewal signals are not disclosed in the 2023 FDD. Without term data or recent activity, contract cycle timing cannot be estimated.
The FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2023. You can review the full document in the embedded PDF viewer below to conduct your own due diligence on the franchisor.
Source

Read the filing itself

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Ugly Dumpling2023 FDDView only

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

Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

1 operators run 1 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit1

Top states by locations

WI1

Ownership

The portfolio behind Ugly Dumpling

unknown of ugly dumpling america.

Related Quick service restaurant brands

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