DoorDashDoorDash
llow that they keep a percent of Gross Sales to reimburse the store or facility for third-party delivery fees they incur for delivery of your products, such as through Grubhub and DoorDash. If a Third
From the filings
+61.119% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Zenshi, AFC, Advanced Fresh Concepts, Wild Blue
Quick service restaurantZenshi's franchise agreement puts hardware purchasing under HQ control: franchisees must buy a Samsung Tablet System built to the franchisor's specifications and a separate internet-connected computer system. The brand spans 3,762 units, 3,572 of them franchised, with franchised-outlet growth of 61.119% year over year.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
3,762
3,572 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+61.119%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
8%
of gross sales
Ad fund
—
national + local
Initial fee
$6K
per unit
Investment range
$40K–$251K
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. It is a floor, not a total — the filing discloses one of the two headline fees.
8%+of gross sales (FY2025)
15% reference
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.
GrubhubGrubhub
cility may allow that they keep a percent of Gross Sales to reimburse the store or facility for third-party delivery fees they incur for delivery of your products, such as through Grubhub and DoorDash
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
18 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 9 explicit no's; 7 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?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall conform these records to any accounting system that Franchisor may prescribe in the Manuals or otherwise in writing.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We can require you to provide us independent access to the information generated or stored on your tablet, including inventory tracking logs.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall provide Franchisor at frequencies that Franchisor requests, profit and loss statements and balance sheets for months, quarters and years, all as Franchisor specifies.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We typically provide the initial inventory and equipment to the Food Service Counter before you arrive to start operating. As a result, you will obtain these items from us.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may revise the list from time to time.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
250.7Item 8
From the revenue to AFC, approximately $250.7million in the US was from required purchases by franchisees, which is 17.2% of the gross receipts and 36.1% of our total revenue.
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?
95Item 8
Your purchases from us and/or our approved suppliers will be 85% or more of the purchases you will make to start the business; and nearly 95% or more of the purchases you will make on an ongoing basis to operate the business.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 6
Request for Approval of $500 plus our out of pocket If requested If you request to sell a non-approved New Product, Supplier or investigation expenses product, or use a non-approved Vendor (3)(9) supplier or vendor, you pay our investigation expenses and a fee of $500.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to offer something we haven’t approved, or buy from a supplier we haven’t approved, you must tell us in writing and provide us samples and other information we need to check out the product or supplier.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Assign to Franchisor or its designee, all right, title and interest in and to the phone numbers of the Food Service Counter(s), notify the phone company and all listing agencies that Franchisee’s right to use the phone numbers ended, and authorize the transfer of the phone numbers to Franchisor or its designee;
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
We (or independent third party inspectors) will periodically inspect your Food Service Counter(s) and tell you of operations we think you need to address or improve.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor shall have the right to modify the Manuals from time to time.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You must select a location before signing the franchise agreement.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee acknowledges that Franchisee shall be required to purchase the proprietary or private labeled products from Franchisor, or from a limited number of suppliers designated by Franchisor.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You are required to purchase a computer system with Internet connectivity to permit you to submit purchase orders online and to obtain information on new products, product specifications or other information.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
Your Food Service Counter(s) must be staffed by a sushi chef (if applicable to your location) before and during what we consider to be peak hours.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall purchase and Franchisee’s employees shall at all times wear uniforms imprinted with the Marks and conforming to other specifications prescribed by Franchisor.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor shall have the right to charge Franchisee Franchisor’s then current fee for each person for whom Franchisor provides any additional training, even if that training was required by Franchisor.
The filing answers no to 9 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 20
- Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?Item 11
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Franchise agreement
- Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?Item 11
- Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?Item 8
- Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?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.
Formal HQ procurement; C-suite sponsor + cross-functional committee + IT/security/legal; often PE-backed.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- 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%.
- 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.
- 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 Zenshi
Zenshi, franchised by Advanced Fresh Concepts (AFC) alongside its AFC and Wild Blue counters, operates 3,762 units — 3,572 franchised and 190 company-owned — with franchised outlets up 61.119% year over year. The FDD makes no financial performance representation. Corporate data maps 3,417 operators, 17 of them multi-unit, across roughly 3,436 located units, concentrated in FL (659), CA (539), GA (299), NC (206) and WA (167). Zenshi is part of Advanced Fresh Concepts, alongside sibling brand Freshly Go.
Who controls software purchasing
Zenshi's headquarters sets the specifications for the Tablet System. Franchisees must purchase a Samsung Tablet (Galaxy Tab E or A) with a dongle and printer meeting Zenshi's specifications, for printing product labels, and separately must purchase a computer system with internet connectivity to submit purchase orders online and pull product information. If Zenshi develops or designates application software for the Tablet System, franchisees must purchase, implement and use it and comply with Zenshi's standards for it, including upgrade and maintenance requirements.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
Franchisees also buy an inventory scanner and pay a monthly web and data fee covering Zenshi's online ordering pages and inventory tracking software. Beyond the Tablet System, computer system and Tablet System software described above, Zenshi's Item 8 restrictions are the operative supplier controls.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 runs an approved-supplier list: to protect trade secrets, Zenshi can require proprietary items be bought only from itself or a designated supplier, and Zenshi, its affiliates and other approved suppliers are currently the only sources for seafood products, rice, vinegar, pre-prepared frozen salads, prepackaged condiments and food items, logo utensils and serving trays. Beyond these categories, the filing states it has no other required specifications, designated suppliers or approved supplies, and franchisees may propose an alternative supplier for approval. Zenshi estimates purchases from itself or its approved suppliers will run 85% or more of what's needed to start a location. The initial term runs 5 years, with renewal available to franchisees in good standing who give 180 to 360 days' notice and bring the Food Service Counter into updated compliance.
How to read the Zenshi FDD
The embedded viewer below carries Zenshi's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document in full, including the Item 11 technology language and Item 8 supplier-restriction language summarized above.
Talk to FranCloud for a ranked list of franchise systems like Zenshi where the technology mandate and growth curve line up with your product.
Questions vendors ask
Zenshi, AFC, Advanced Fresh Concepts, Wild Blue, answered from the filing
Zenshi's corporate office sets the specifications for the required Tablet System and requires an internet-connected computer system. President and CEO Vincenzo Calcagni leads headquarters, with Vice President of Business Development Michelle Narain a relevant entry point for a vendor pitch.
Franchisees must purchase a Samsung Tablet (Galaxy Tab E or A) with a dongle and printer built to Zenshi's specifications for label printing, plus an inventory scanner, an internet-connected computer system for online purchase orders, and monthly web and data access including Zenshi's inventory tracking software. Any Tablet System software Zenshi designates must also be purchased and used.
3,762 total units — 3,572 franchised, 190 company-owned — in the quick-service segment, concentrated in FL, CA, GA, NC and WA.
Item 8 runs an approved-supplier list: Zenshi can require proprietary items such as sauces and spices to come only from Zenshi or a designated supplier, and Zenshi, its affiliates or other approved suppliers are currently the only sources for seafood, rice, vinegar and several other food categories. Franchisees may propose an alternative supplier for approval.
The initial term runs 5 years, with renewal available to franchisees in good standing who give 180 to 360 days' notice, sign the then-current agreement, and bring the Food Service Counter into updated compliance. Franchised outlets grew 61.119% year over year, pointing to fast-expanding technology setup demand.
The embedded viewer below carries Zenshi's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document.
Source
Read the filing itself
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Zenshi, AFC, Advanced Fresh Concepts, Wild Blue files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
3,417 operators run 3,436 mapped locations. 17 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit3,400
2–9 units17
Top states by locations
| FL | 659 |
|---|---|
| CA | 539 |
| GA | 299 |
| NC | 206 |
| WA | 167 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Zenshi, AFC, Advanced Fresh Concepts, Wild Blue
strategic_multibrand of Advanced Fresh Concepts.
Sibling brands
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.