Chick-fil-A is the account every restaurant vendor wants on their logo slide, and the one most of them pitch to the wrong person. Most reps assume a franchisee owns their restaurant's technology and can sign for it. At Chick-fil-A, that's rarely true. HQ picks the site, holds the lease, owns the kitchen equipment and leases out the register. This post is the buying map for selling into Chick-fil-A, built entirely from the brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. It covers who decides, what restaurants spend, and where the few open doors are. The same read for a system that buys the opposite way on marketing is in how to sell into Jersey Mike's.
How big is Chick-fil-A?
| Metric | As of the 2026 FDD |
|---|---|
| Restaurants | 2,863 (2,795 franchised, 68 company-operated), plus 424 licensed units under a separate disclosure document |
| Unit growth | +6.3% year over year |
| Average annual sales | $9,161,239 (2025, 2,302 free-standing and drive-thru franchised restaurants open the full year; median $9,087,673) |
| Mall restaurants | $4,579,894 average (2025, 201 restaurants) |
| Initial franchise fee | $10,000 |
| Franchise term | One year, renewing automatically each year |
| HQ revenue | $10.34B in FY2025 (audited) |
The $10,000 fee is the only up-front cash a franchisee has to put in. HQ finds the site and acquires or leases the property, buys most of the equipment, and leases both back to the franchisee. That structure explains almost everything below.
Who decides on technology at Chick-fil-A: HQ or the franchisee?
For Chick-fil-A, the answer is HQ in nearly every category. We rate the system Locked. HQ decides the core systems, and it can change its approved and sole suppliers "at any time." How mandated tech shows up in a filing is covered in Item 11 and what FDDs reveal about franchise tech stacks.
| Category | Who decides |
|---|---|
| Point of sale | HQ-mandated: HQ obtains the POS and back-office computer and leases them to the restaurant |
| Payments / card processing | HQ-approved list: only payment methods, merchant processors, and POS systems expressly approved by Chick-fil-A |
| Mobile app (ordering, payment, loyalty) | HQ-mandated: franchisees must take part in HQ's mobile app program |
| Gift cards | HQ-mandated: system-wide gift card program, with fees passed through by an HQ affiliate |
| Customer data | HQ owns it by contract |
| Back office and fee accounting | HQ collects the restaurant's sales and issues a monthly fee report |
| Kitchen equipment | HQ acquires it and leases it to the restaurant |
| Insurance (workers' comp, liability, employment practices) | HQ-mandated: bought through HQ's approved insurance program |
| Website and social accounts | HQ-controlled: no franchisee website or online use of the brand without written approval |
| Payroll | Franchisee choice: the filing names no required payroll provider |
| Hiring and staffing | Franchisee: HQ states it does not employ or jointly employ franchisees' staff |
| Labor scheduling | Not specified: the HQ-leased POS includes a time clock |
| Phone system, CRM | Not specified in the filing |
Three details matter for a pitch:
- HQ owns the customer data. The franchise agreement says HQ owns all customer data collected on its platforms. Franchisees can use only the data HQ chooses to share, under HQ's rules. If you sell loyalty, CRM or customer analytics, there's no buyer at the restaurant.
- HQ sees the store's data. HQ has independent access to the data in each restaurant's hardware and software system. It also acts as processor for the personal data franchisees collect about customers, staff and suppliers.
- There's an exception at captive venues. At offices, stadiums, universities and theme parks, the venue owner can supply the POS, internet and support. The franchisee then pays the venue, and HQ may not have access to that system's data. This is the one place a non-HQ POS legitimately runs a Chick-fil-A restaurant.
Buying path:
- Franchisees buy 38% to 61% of their ongoing supplies from approved or designated suppliers (43% to 62% when opening).
- Franchisees can ask HQ to approve a new supplier, handled case by case.
- HQ and its affiliates are the only approved suppliers of several items, including the seasoning, the coating, distribution in some regions, premises leases, equipment leases and business services.
- No franchisee association is listed in the filing. The only buying cooperative is a captive insurance company owned by franchisees.
The same split, filing over champion, is the frame in selling to franchise systems.
What is a Chick-fil-A restaurant's IT budget?
Chick-fil-A franchisees don't buy technology up front. The POS and back-office computer come as part of the equipment HQ leases to them. The ongoing cost is a fee:
- Recurring: $9,500 to $20,000 per restaurant a year for internet access, hardware and software support, and software upgrades. The amount depends on the system the restaurant uses (2026 FDD). Captive venue and delivery kitchen units may pay less where the venue supplies the POS.
- Equipment rental, which includes the POS: $5,000 a month for a free-standing or in-line restaurant, $4,000 for drive-thru only, $3,000 for a mall unit, and $750 to $3,000 for captive venues.
- Across the system (estimate): about $26.6M to $55.9M a year in technology fees across 2,795 franchised restaurants (2,795 × $9,500 to $20,000).
- Share of sales (estimate): about 0.1% to 0.2% of an average free-standing or drive-thru restaurant's sales.
- Upgrade cap: the filing states none.
For a vendor, the point is that the restaurant has no technology budget of its own to win. The technology fee is paid to HQ, and HQ decides what it buys.
How much does Chick-fil-A spend on marketing, national vs. local?
Chick-fil-A's marketing works the opposite way from most large quick-service brands. Royalty and ad-fund structure in general is in franchise royalty and ad fees.
| Bucket | As of the 2026 FDD |
|---|---|
| National ad fund contribution | 0% since mid-1989, by internal policy. HQ reserves the right to return to 3.25% or another program at any time |
| Who funds national advertising | Certain designated suppliers contribute up to about 33% of franchisees' purchases from them |
| Local / regional ad funds | Required where a majority of franchisees in the area vote one in, with the amount also set by franchisee vote |
| Local marketing minimum | None |
| Grand opening spend | No minimum required |
| Promotions | Franchisees must join HQ campaigns (coupons, giveaways, signage), sometimes at their own cost |
The filing gives no per-restaurant marketing dollar figure, because the national contribution is zero and local amounts are set by local vote. The buying decisions follow the same split: national brand marketing sits with HQ's marketing team, and local marketing spend sits with franchisees, alone or through the local ad funds they vote in.
Does Chick-fil-A use a marketing agency, and can franchisees hire local ones?
Does Chick-fil-A use a marketing agency? Yes. The filing says the brand's advertising "is generated by in-house advertising talent and multiple agencies."
Can franchisees hire a local agency? Yes, and historically they have. The filing says franchisees "have traditionally engaged third-party advertising agencies." Two limits apply:
- Materials: franchisees must use only advertising materials HQ has approved or supplied, and all local materials must meet HQ's current standards.
- HQ's own agency: HQ now offers its in-house agency to franchisees as an option, at a blended rate of $100 an hour. It says it hopes "to eliminate fragmented creative services enabling more uniform messaging system-wide."
For local agencies, this is the biggest open door at Chick-fil-A, but HQ now competes for the same work.
Who controls the Chick-fil-A restaurants?
Chick-fil-A is 98% franchised, but the franchisee's position looks very different from most systems:
- HQ selects every site and acquires the property or negotiates the lease, then leases or subleases it to the franchisee.
- HQ owns most of the equipment and rents it to the franchisee.
- Franchisees must work in the business full-time. HQ may offer a franchisee additional restaurants but isn't obliged to, and it can decide never to offer one.
- Agreements are short. Each franchise agreement runs to December 31 of the year it's signed and then renews automatically one year at a time. Either side can end it on 30 days' notice, and HQ can change the terms on 45 days' notice before year-end.
What this means for a vendor:
- Any franchisee deal: a multi-year contract with a franchisee outlasts their guaranteed term, so keep terms short or month-to-month.
- HQ-decided categories: going around HQ through the franchisees isn't a real route.
Where does Chick-fil-A HQ make money, and what does it mean for your pitch?
HQ's revenue comes from the franchisee's sales and from what franchisees buy:
- Operating service fee: 15% of each restaurant's sales, which includes the equipment rent and a $300 monthly business services fee. On top of that, HQ takes 50% of the profit that remains after costs. The franchisee keeps a $1,000 monthly base profit at their first restaurant before the split.
- Rent: $3,500 to $100,655 a month for a traditional restaurant. An internal HQ policy caps rent at 6% of sales, and HQ can change that policy at any time.
- Purchases and leases: HQ booked $1,870,222,936 in FY2025 from franchisee and licensee purchases (seasoning, coating, supplies, business services) and leases (premises, equipment, marketing assets). That's 18.08% of its $10.34B revenue.
- Distribution: HQ's distribution affiliate received $2.87B from franchisee and licensee purchases in FY2025.
- Supplier payments: HQ receives payments on the proprietary seasoning (about $0.06 per pound of seasoned chicken) and a markup on warehouse goods (cost plus about 2.5%). It may also receive "other forms of compensation" from approved suppliers.
If your product replaces an HQ-supplied item, or a supplier that pays into the national ad fund, you're asking HQ to give up revenue or ad dollars. Go in with a clear answer on what HQ gains. That disclosure mechanic is why so many vendor deals stall once legal gets the file: see why franchise vendor deals stall in legal review.
When to call Chick-fil-A, and who to call
Timing signals (2026 FDD):
- Unit growth of 6.3% a year, with six to twelve weeks from signing to opening. That's a steady flow of new restaurants.
- HQ states it is "evaluating and considering possible replacements, modifications and other changes" to its fees, so the restaurant economics are under review.
- Recent HQ moves: a new Chief Marketing Officer (January 2026), and new Officer VPs for Supply Chain Procurement and for New Restaurant Growth (both October 2025).
- HQ is building its own kitchen automation, with patent applications for automated fryers, condiment dispensers and delivery-order batching. If that's your category, HQ is a competitor, not a buyer.
Who to call at HQ, by topic (titles from the 2026 FDD):
- Restaurant technology, POS and payments: Officer VP, Operator Technology Solutions
- Customer technology, app and data: Officer VP, Customer Technology Solutions, and the Chief Digital Officer
- Analytics and automation: Officer VP, Advanced Analytics & Automation
- New suppliers and sourcing: Officer VP, Supply Chain Procurement
- National marketing: Chief Marketing Officer
- New restaurant pipeline: Officer VP, New Restaurant Growth
The FDD lists these titles but doesn't say which team owns each purchase, so treat the mapping as a starting point. Filing signals that a brand is in a buying window are in the five franchise filing signals that mean a brand is ready to buy.
How to sell into Chick-fil-A: the play
- HQ categories (POS, payments, mobile app, gift cards, customer data, back office, insurance, national marketing): sell to HQ through the supplier approval process. Bring an answer on what HQ gains, because HQ is often the current supplier.
- Franchisee categories (hiring, payroll, local marketing): sell to franchisees and to the local ad funds they vote in. Keep contract terms short, and keep any marketing work inside HQ-approved materials.
- Venue categories (stadiums, campuses, offices, theme parks): sell to the venue operator, which can supply the POS for its Chick-fil-A unit.
See this buying map for any franchise brand
FranCloud's FDD database builds this view (who decides, what they spend and who controls the stores) for every active US franchise brand. Look up any brand in the franchise directory, or learn which filing sections matter for sales in the learn hub. To check your own target account, use analyze. Why a rep who does everything right still can't scale this motion is in why franchise vendor sales doesn't scale.