Emerging Brands Podcast

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Nicole Di Pietro, vice president of Jeremiah's Italian Ice talks about brand standards, franchising, and maintaining a strong local presence. Di Pietro, who started in hospitality when she was thirteen years old at a local bakery, says even though she worked there all four years of high school, she never thought that her long-term career would end up in the hospitality industry. She went to college and got a job at Tijuana Flats, where she continued working for twenty years before joining Jeremiah's Italian Ice. Di Pietro refers to herself as a lifer in the industry. In 2016 Di Pietro joined Jeremiah's Italian Ice as vice president preparing the brand for growth. She says one of the main reasons she wanted to be a part of the brand was their culture. “The culture is really what drew me in. Just having a servant heart and passion for people was really important for me to align myself with a brand that matched my personal core values and would be able to continue to scale that so the vision for Jeremiah's Italian Ice is really simple, it's to be the coolest frozen dessert brand” says Di Pietro. Adding, “our mission is to consistently create flavorful experiences for our staff and guests while inspiring them to live life to the coolest.”In terms of core values, Di Pietro says, “It's really important for us that the core values that we have are not just something that hangs in a frame on the wall. It's something that we utilize and we use and we exemplify on a daily basis and it's something that when we're looking for employees, franchise partners to grow with we need to ensure that our core values align with the people that we're aligning with because the people are the most important component to any concept.” Di Pietro talks about the future and says, “Jeremiah's franchising in 2021 for the future is really simple. We're trying to create a thoughtful franchising program with franchise partners that truly align with our culture and our core values, that have a people-first mentality and that implements that in their daily actions.” Tune into this episode of Emerging Brands to learn more about Jeramiah's franchise community, company culture, and developing a brand with strong local presence.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Andy Wiederhorn, chief executive officer of FAT Brands talks about the impact of the pandemic on FAT Brands, partnering with third party delivery, and the benefits of becoming a franchisee. Wiederhorn shares with us the impact the pandemic had on FAT Brands saying, “The impact of the pandemic on FAT Brands was really challenging because we have multiple categories of restaurant companies, we have QSR brands, we have fast casual brands, we have casual dining brands and polished casual dining brands. So the effect here across our different brands was different in each category.” He adds, “the brands that were the most resilient of course were the QSR brands and the fast casual brands that always had delivery and togo and they went from thirty or forty percent delivery and to eighty five percent delivery and togo.” FAT Brands has fifteen different brands including Johnny Rockets, Hot Dog on a Stick, Marble Slab Creamery, Pretzelmaker, Round Table Pizza, Great American Cookie Company, FAT Burger, Elevation Burger, Yalla Mediterranean, Buffalo's Cafe, Hurricane Grill, and their most recent acquisition of Twin Peaks. Wiederhorn says, “recently our acquisition of Twin Peaks the sports lodge is really our first entry into polished casual dining, where you have much larger average unit volumes five or six million dollars a restaurant. These restaurants are quite large, six thousand square feet. They cost five or six million dollars to build and you know it's a whole different business being in the sports bar business.” Wiederhorn talks about the benefits of being a franchisee partner saying, “being part of the FAT Brands family brings all kinds of benefits to the franchisee. Our purchasing power today is more than five hundred million dollars a year in food, paper, beverages, and so when you're a franchisee joining our family you're getting two or three percent lower food costs just because of our global purchasing power.”  To hear more about the benefits of becoming a franchisee partner in regards to marketing power, the value of third party partnerships, and why restaurants should consider being on the plant-based protein train, tune into this episode of Emerging Brands on Apple Podcasts.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Michele Waits, Vice President Marketing of illycaffè North America, Inc., talks about the brand's history, new real estate opportunities, and direct to consumer trends. Waits shares the long history of illycaffè, saying “The history of Illy is relatively long I think for many coffee companies. It was founded in 1933 in Trieste Italy which is an important port city for europe and in a place where all coffee comes into Europe and it's a family company so we are in the third generation of the illy family playing an important role in managing the company. There is a heritage of both. Rich Italian coffee culture but also innovation with the illy brand and the illy family are known to be the first to bring an espresso machine to the marketplace many years ago.” Adding, Illy has been around for more than 80 years and has been in the US for a little over 20 years and we are happy to say that we are making it as I mentioned a concerted effort to really grow our presence here in the us.”Waits talks about new real estate opportunities, she says, “there are opportunities for us to really build our brand and to expose new customers to Illy in airports. We have been really excited to gain new business in airports around the country and particularly in markets where we are placing some strategic bets. So airport is definitely a big part of our real estate priority.” When it comes to the Illy store model Waits says, “we are also seeing opportunities to really refocus and clarify if you will our store model and so we are experimenting a bit with some new services and some new products in some of our stores that we hope to roll out once we get some good learnings.” Waits discusses direct-to-consumer trends during the pandemic and then post pandemic. She says that, “what we're seeing is there is a shift in some cases back from online to offline to brick and mortar. But I would say not all of the gains that we got in direct-to-consumer have been passed back to brick and mortar. There are definitely more people shopping online both in our E shop and also on retailer's sites and so there's definitely that increase. But the growth in direct-to-consumer has slowed a bit since the height of the pandemic.”To hear about Illy's retail tech innovation, commitment to sustainability, and their Welcome On The Road To Happiness campaign tune in to this episode of Emerging Brands Podcast.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Micha Magid, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Mighty Quinn's Barbeque talks about his transition to foodservice from mergers and acquisitions and how Mighty Quinn's Barbeque is building a brand. Magid shares how the brand started with his stepbrother Hugh Mangum's pop-up version of Mighty Quinn's Barbeque at weekend food markets in Brooklyn. The success of the pop-ups led the three partners Mangum, Gourmos, and Magid to bring this concept to brick and mortar. Magid became an investor until the brand took off and then they left their day jobs to build the brand. Magid says he thinks of Mighty Quinn's more of a brand whose mission is to bring authentic barbeque to areas where it doesn't exist. Magid also talks about expanding, from the owner of corporate restaurants to becoming a franchisor. Seeing demand on the franchisee side, Mighty Quinn's brought a differentiated restaurant concept to new markets. He also shares what additional opportunities they also identified. The evolution of Mighty Quinn's Barbeque began with pop-ups, corporate restaurants, franchises, and followed with consumer products business. Magid sees Mighty Quinn's not really being in the foodservice business but really being more of a brand. They see consumer's interacting with their brand through multiple different venues and channels. Magid talks about going from having one restaurant location in the East Village of Manhattan to multiple units, noting a nod and glowing rating from the New York Times dining section that put them on the cover, Magid says, “it put us on the map in a really big way.” He adds, “after that review came out the whole world really changed for us.” To hear more about Mighty Quinn's Barbeque expansion plans including more stadiums, franchisees, and consumer products, listen to this episode on Emerging Brands podcast.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Lionel Ladouceur, CEO of LE DUFF Americas, the parent company of la Madeleine, talks about his early beginning as a fast food executive with Mcdonalds in Canada and then moving on to Burger King. Ladouceur met Louis Le Duff during his time in manufacturing and eventually joined the Le Duff team as chief executive officer. In 1983 the original founder of la Madeleine moved from France to Dallas, not able to find french pastries in a place known for barbeque, la Madeleine bakery and cafe opened. Ladouceur talks about it's cult-like following, how Group Le Duff purchased the brand in 2001, and three decades of building a brand. Ladouceur says the brand has a strong focus on digital marketing but he knew they needed to be able to have store level marketing to make sure they are reaching all of their local customers. At la Madeleine, Ladouceur says, they are constantly reviewing menu innovation while keeping the french heritage and their culinary expertise combined with what the guest wants. Service has always been strong for la Madeleine, Ladouceur says, their team internally believes in making a difference in their guests' lives when they come to visit. He talks about updating their facilities to a more modern decor representing what France is today. During Covid, Ladouceur said, la Madeleine had a digital program but increased visibility curbside pick, third party delivery and took a multi-channel approach to increasing the brand's visibility to customers. He shares how they added a drive-through in their core market in Dallas as well as added grab and go. Listen to this episode to learn more about la Madeleine's plan on growing the business and their megastore partnership with Walmart.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Matt Ensero, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wing It On! talks about his motivation to open a wing concept restaurant and why he opened in his hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut. Plus, he shares his pillars for achieving national success and what a franchisee can expect from Wing It On! as a partner. Ensero says, there are three factors in order to get that authentic buffalo wing, they are the crispiness of the wings, the sauce itself and the dipping sauce. He explains how Wing It On! delivers on those three factors. The poultry shortage would impact many businesses but Ensero said they were able to minimize the effects and he shares how they were able to offset that challenge. Wing It On! was able to partner with suppliers to keep costs low and was guaranteed allotment as a restaurant partner. Ensero shares his decision to become a franchise, the steps he took to become one, and what they look for in a franchisee. He wants his partners to be a fellow “wing nut” and be equally finatical about customer service. Ensero encourages first time restaurateurs and entrepreneurs to become franchisees. He also tells us what makes Wing It On! a good partner if you are looking to get into the business or are already in the restaurant industry. When talking about expansion for the brand, Wing It On! will need to graduate from what Ensero calls emerging brand university in order to become a national brand. He says, Wing It On! needs straight A's in the eight pillars of emerging brands success. Ensero's eight pillars are: quality of operatorssite selectiontraining customer service food quality supply chain technologyMarketingIf you want to learn more about Wing It On! and Ensero's plan for the future growth of the brand, be sure to listen to this episode on Emerging Brands Podcast.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Mark Setterington, President and Chief Executive Officer of Island Fin Poke Company talks about taking a leap of faith, creating a restaurant brand from scratch, and the importance of feeling welcomed like family at his restaurants. Setterington shares how he met Paul Reas at Bahama Breeze fifteen years ago and how their friendship would bring them together to create Island Fin Poke Company. He tells the story of Paul quitting his job, heading to meet Setterington in Las Vegas where he was working at the time and the impact a road trip dedicated to eating would have in their menu. All of the recipes for Island Fin Poke were developed in Setterington's home and tested by friends and family. Setterington spent nine weeks in Hawaii and never had poke, his love for Hawaii came from the culture because it is all about family. He treats his vendors, guests and franchisees.Setterington says, when they decided to do their own thing it was about building a lifestyle, not a job. He wanted to spend more time with family and playing golf, so he said, they decided on fast-casual. Zero complexity was the mission. Even though Setterington had planned to have two or three restaurants after opening his first in Orlando Florida, he soon realized that they had a great opportunity for a franchise brand. He discusses the steps to becoming a franchise, what is involved in making those changes and the importance of being a good partner to franchisees. Tune in to the podcast to learn about Island Fin Poke's company culture, their plan for expansion in the future and the advice Setterington would give himself during the conception of Island Fin Poke.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Ross Mackay, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Daring Foods, talks about how becoming a vegan athlete, his competitive background and his devotion to a healthy lifestyle contributed to the launch of Daring Foods in 2018. Mackay wanted to create a plant-based protein that mimics the real taste, texture and macro nutrients as chicken.  He was determined to crack the code on a better-for-you plant-based chicken and his drive was to positively impact the planet and human health. Mackay says that the single aim for Daring Foods was to remove poultry from the food system. Daring Foods focuses on growth, employees and adding retailers. Mackay talks about attracting great investors, the Series B funding and going from two to fifty employees in just a few months.  “It's an exciting time for us at Daring, there is a huge amount of momentum, especially in distribution,”says Mackay. “Moving from four hundred days ago we were in three hundred doors, this year we will see more than ten times that number, maybe even twenty times.” Mackay adds, the core focus has always been to build a great business. Mackay shares how the DOT Foods partnership has contributed to their foodservice growth, allowing Daring access to restaurant groups, restaurant chains, hotels, schools, hospitals and more. The versatility of the Daring product will bring it to restaurant menus across the country, and they are building a team around this growth, says Mackay. To learn about Daring Food's manufacturing technique, how it contributes to the taste and texture of their plant-based chicken and Mackay's pinch me moment, listen to Emerging Brands.

Anthony Russo, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Russo's New York Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen talks about how he got started in the restaurant business, his family's influence, and developing an international brand. Russo shares how he opened his first restaurant in Texas, it was a small little pizzeria, five hundred square feet with a pizza oven, dough mixer, and two tables. He had a dream to start a franchise business and teach people how to make pizza and pasta. After several years in development, Russo opened a larger store in Houston and then began franchising. SOURCE: https://www.nypizzeria.com/SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.NYPIZZERIA.COM/After Russo attended food show's domestically he decided to go to an international show, and he headed to Dubai. He exhibited at the show and served his pizza's on site. Curious to see how pizza tasted locally, Russo discovered there was a need for authentic pizza in the Middle East. He partnered with a local franchisee in the market and continues to grow the business internationally. During the pandemic, Russo shares how the brand's delivery model and making digitally-focused changes contributed to the restaurants' and franchises' success. He said, social media took off, they served fresh made to order meals, and the brand gained new customers. In the next five years, Russo's goal is to open over one hundred restaurants. He says, if you are planning to open a restaurant in today's market, look at your menu and set your business for home delivery service. Listen to the advice Russo offers when planning to open a restaurant.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Andy Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders talks about thirty-five years ago when he got his start as a marketing director in the restaurant industry. Howard explains why his career choices have earned him the name chicken expert. First chicken stop started with Kenny Rogers Roasters, which was the whole chicken, then moved to the chicken breast at Ranch One a small chain in New York at that time. Howard's third stop as Executive Vice President of Wingstop, where the menu consisted of just wings. Howard had been traveling for ten years between South Florida and Texas with Wingstop and it was time for him to get off the road. He talks about looking for his next life, he wanted to stay in the chicken business and began his quest to find the greatest chicken tenders. Howard's journey takes him to Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders based in Orlando, he acquired the company. Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders was a perfect fit for Howard's plan. He talks about the steps he took to get the brand ready to franchise and his passion for the franchise model. Howard was looking to attract experienced franchisees and began franchising Huey Magoo's. He shares his strategy to grow the south, southeast quadrant. Methodically, Howard will grow Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders across the country with eighteen stores open today and two hundred sold in eight states. Howard shares how Huey Magoo's task force of very few were able to navigate the pandemic, and support the restaurants. They took the approach to over communicate and to continuously offer support. Howard says, they were able to get through and even thrive.Howard shares his love for the franchise business and his approach to being the first contact for anyone interested in being a partner. He has learned a lot over the years and believes in taking care of his team.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Sandra Noonan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Just Salad, home of the world's largest restaurant reusable program, talks about the Just Salad concept with a mission to make everyday health and everyday sustainability possible. Just Salad is a restaurant chain founded in 2006 in New York City and their cause empowers customers to eat with a purpose. When it comes to leading the brand, prioritizing sustainability is at the top of Noonan's list. Just Salad is the first United States restaurant chain to carbon label its menu and has partnered with research scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, Tulane University, and Harvard University to study the effects of its carbon labels on consumer behavior. Noonan shares how she reached out prior to her joining the team, to the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Just Salad, Nick Kenner. Kenner was tired of plastic salad bowls piling up in trash bins and thought there had to be a better way. The philosophy behind there must be a better way has really persisted throughout the company's growth. Noonan talks about the Reusable Bowl Program and how it works in two ways:-Purchase a bowl for a dollar and every time you bring back your reusable bowl you get a free topping.-Delivery or pickup you can opt in to the bring back bowl program, it will be professionally cleaned when you bring it back. The carbon labeling program at Just Salad, will help consumers to understand the carbon footprint of what they eat. Noonan discusses the partnership with three universities designed to study the impact of carbon labels and how consumers would make choices to purchase one salad over another. Noonan explains Just Salad's partnership with Arcadia on an offer that would enable their customers to choose clean energy for their homes. Arcadia is a company that empowers homeowners or renters to support clean energy through their utility bill. This partnership fits perfectly with the Just Salad mission to make everyday health and everyday sustainability possible.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Carl Howard, Chief Executive Officer of Fazoli's shares his restaurant and franchise experience, Fazoli's double-digit growth and the brand's significant expansion plans. Howard takes us back to his humble beginning as a busboy at Bill Knapps when he was sixteen. He had various roles at restaurants and at age twenty Howard got his first management position at The Elephant Bar. Next he became the general manager at one of his father-in-law's italian restaurants. Eventually Howard moves his way through the ranks at Damon's Grill, he became a franchisee of the restaurant and later became the Chief Executive Officer. Shortly after, Howard had an opportunity to join Fazoli's team in 2008. Howard talks about Fazoli's interesting history that started thirty-three years ago, it's rocky beginning, and how cod played a part in the brand. Today Fazoli's has 215 locations and continues to grow rapidly, they will open fifteen to twenty locations this year. Fazoli's model combined with no franchise fee and zero royalty in year one has contributed to the growth, say's Howard. When Howard began at Fazoli's he took a deep dive into the brand, trying to understand the double-digit decrease. Through changing food, service and technology, Howard quickly turned the brand around. Fazoli's has always had to adapt over the years and during the pandemic, they used analytics to understand what was driving their customers. Fazoli's was able to meet the changing needs of their consumer, and take pride in that every aspect of the brand has been upgraded. Howard says Fazoli's is definitely in the virtual concept business, having three virtual brands Macaroniville, Wingville, and Wow Bao. Be sure to listen to the Emerging Brands Podcast to hear Carl Howard talk about how Fazoli's gives back and the programs in place for taking care of their employees. Howard also shares his personal connection in partnering with Feed The Children.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Kelly Roddy, President and Chief Executive Officer of WOWorks, talks about the early beginning of his career at Walmart. Roddy worked up through the ranks and learned leadership and business skills. He moved to Scholastic Books and then back to the retail segment with HEB, a large retail grocer out of Texas. Roddy's first restaurant job was CEO at Schlotzsky's under the FOCUS Brands umbrella. In 2019 Roddy started at SaladWorks as the Chief Executive Officer with the intent to create a holding company to bring in several good for you brands. WOWorks set out to acquire brands well positioned for a guest that has educated themselves on food as fuel. WOWorks added three additional brands to the portfolio with plans to add more. Roddy discusses the pandemic and the difficult time it was for the restaurant industry. He talks about supporting his franchise partners, working closely with the community, and giving back to first responders. The brand's growth was also a priority focusing on third party delivery and virtual opportunities, they successfully added ghost kitchen partners. Roddy wanted to make SaladWorks more accessible to customers across the country and partnered with several grocery stores. As far as WOWorks brands, SaladWorks was the start and is the largest salad chain in the United States today with about 140 units and growing. Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh was acquired, offering fast-casual authentic Mediterranean cuisine. Frutta Bowls was another acquisition that will triple in size over the next year, offering a clean variety of fresh to order bowls. The latest, The Simple Greek with a fresh and healthy take on ancient greek recipes. Listen to Roddy speak on the future of the restaurant industry and what to expect from WOWorks in the next five years.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Anita Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Black Bear Diner, talks about her unusual path from being a certified public accountant to landing in the restaurant industry. Adams shares her transition from Chief Financial Officer and her commitment to fiercely protect the brand that is one of the fastest-growing franchises in the country. Adams took over as Chief Executive Officer shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a dramatic impact on the restaurant industry. As a leader Adams had to navigate through the challenges that came along with running fifty corporate diners and close to ninety franchise diners. It was important to protect their teams at the diner and ensure long term viability for franchise partners. Adams shares that they want Black Bear Diner employees just starting out or have been with them to have a clear career track with the company. Their employees have defined positions and know how they will be promoted within the system. Especially as a growth company it is imperative that they grow their teams internally. Three key points to their employees growth:-Defining their human resource track.-Incredibly strong training.-Being a great employer.Coming out of the pandemic, Adams wants to focus on providing an amazing experience for their guests at the unique cabin themed restaurants. Getting back to the hospitality component and staying true to who they were before the pandemic. Adams, being named one of the fifty most influential women in the foodservice industry, shares her beliefs in pulling people up and fostering that kind of environment. Her advice is to make an impact, work for great companies, and invest in the teams that are below you. Looking to the rest of this year and beyond, Black Bear Diner is well-positioned to grow the brand and Adams talks about the focus and steps to continue growing.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Ashley Morris, Chief Executive Officer of Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop and the newly acquired Wing Zone, talks about growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and going to school for finance. Morris shares how his best friend introduced him to Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop when he came home from school. Ashley Morris was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Las Vegas. He went to school for finance and he started early in his career in financial services and portfolio management with Wells Fargo. While in college, his best friend Jason introduced Morris to Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop. Morris gets around to going to Capriotti’s and because he had a love for cheese steaks, he orders the sandwich. Morris says, “This was the greatest cheese steak I had ever eaten of all the cheese steaks that I had eaten.” Morris became passionate about the food at Capriotti’s and sometimes would eat it twice a day!While at Wells Fargo, Morris wanted to diversify and find a side business with his best friend. They both looked into Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop because they had a high passion for the food and business. They became franchisees in 2003, and two years later they were building their third. When it becomes clear to Morris that Capriotti’s was his true passion, he goes back to the founder’s wanting a larger territory. Through their negotiations Morris ends up acquiring Capriotti’s and becomes the franchisor in 2008, owning the entire company. Morris talks about the overall philosophy and the rebranding of Capriotti’s as well as the total economic meltdown ninety days after the purchase of Capriotti’s. Their business plans at that point had gone out the window, forcing them to survive instead of grow and thrive. Learn why company values became the driving force for their vision. Morris talks about the big picture, says the future of On this episode of Emerging Brands, Ashley Morris, Chief Executive Officer of Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop and the newly acquired Wing Zone, talks about growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and going to school for finance. Morris shares how his best friend introduced him to Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop when he came home from school. Ashley Morris was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Las Vegas. He went to school for finance and he started early in his career in financial services and portfolio management with Wells Fargo. While in college, his best friend Jason introduced Morris to Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop. Morris gets around to going to Capriotti’s and because he had a love for cheese steaks, he orders the sandwich. Morris says, “This was the greatest cheese steak I had ever eaten of all the cheese steaks that I had eaten.” Morris became passionate about the food at Capriotti’s and sometimes would eat it twice a day!While at Wells Fargo, Morris wanted to diversify and find a side business with his best friend. They both looked into Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop because they had a high passion for the food and business. They became franchisees in 2003, and two years later they were building their third. When it becomes clear to Morris that Capriotti’s was his true passion, he goes back to the founder’s wanting a larger territory. Through their negotiations Morris ends up acquiring Capriotti’s and becomes the franchisor in 2008, owning the entire company. Morris talks about the overall philosophy and the rebranding of Capriotti’s as well as the total economic meltdown ninety days after the purchase of Capriotti’s. Their business plans at that point had gone out the window, forcing them to survive instead of grow and thrive. Learn why company values became the driving force for their vision. Morris talks about the big picture, says the future of Capriotti’s is on track to be a national brand within five years and the pieces are in place for a successful franchise organization. He discusses how the acquisition of Wing Zone came about and the plans to continue growing. is on track to be a national brand within five years and the pieces are in place for a successful franchise organization. He discusses how the acquisition of Wing Zone came about and the plans to continue growing.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Andrew Pudalov, founder and CEO of Rush Bowls, talks about the trigger and emotion that drove him from New York City to Boulder, Colorado and the need to create a healthy meal.

In this episode, Akash Kapoor, Co-Founder, CEO, and self-described “Chief Troublemaker” at Curry Up Now, shares the biggest challenges he’s encountered growing the company, if he thinks ethnic fast-casual restaurants face a different set of roadblocks than more traditional offerings do, and why the restaurant-bar duel concept is becoming a key part of their brand.

In this podcast episode, Charlie Guzzetta, chief brand development officer at BurgerFi, shares how BurgerFi keeps customers coming back with their NAE (no antibiotics ever) beef, how they’re expanding into nontraditional spaces such as airports and military bases, and why offering plant-based options is an essential part of their business model.

As they drove from Los Angeles to Phoenix for a bike race, Field Failing and a group of his cyclist friends grew hungrier by the minute, and frustrated with the lack of healthy offerings they had on the road. Eventually stopping at a Subway, Failing wondered why there weren’t more accessible options for him to get lean protein, whole grains, and fresh vegetables to fuel his long rides. So, he started Fields Good Chicken in 2014, focusing on the protein he’d been obsessed with for most of his life. While many fast-casual restaurants focus on fried chicken, Fields Good Chicken opts for a 24-hour slow roasting process to make their signature “damn good” poultry. In this episode, Failing shares how he has succeeded in his mission to deliver superior chicken and give back to his community.

Veza Sur is a craft brewery located in the heart of Miami’s Wynwood district. Every drink is influenced by or infused with Latin-American flavors.

Learn about Gauthier’s background, the differences between lunch and dinner customers, and switching Mulberry & Vine to cashless service!

Learn about the chain’s sustainability efforts, commitment to reviewing and adjusting to customer feedback, and how Firebirds gives back to its community.

Learn more about the Modern Market ethos, the restaurant’s investment in innovation and local supply chains, and what lies ahead for the brand.

The market is oversaturated, and differentiating your restaurant from similar concepts can be complicated and time-consuming. Cowboy Chicken seems to have unearthed the right recipe. The chain specializes in all-natural, wood-fired rotisserie chicken—unlike most chains, which offer fried chicken—paired with a wide variety of homestyle sides. Check out this episode to hear more about how Cowboy Chicken is confronting the current challenges in the industry head-on, and what lies ahead for the fast casual chain.

Upon moving to Chicago, Dewjee and his wife quickly discovered that the food experience they grew up with was not readily available in the city. With Bombay Wraps, they hoped to “break the misconception that Indian food or ethnic food has to be a hole in the wall.” He and his wife wanted to craft a place that offered authentic ingredients and flavor combinations in an environment that was modern, clean, and accessible to people of any background.

Charles Bililies, the CEO and founder of Souvla, shares his vision for the fast-fine dining restaurant on this episode of Emerging Brands. Based in San Francisco with four current locations, Souvla—a reference to the Greek word meaning “spit” or “skewer”—offers a modern version of traditional Greek gyro and souvlaki sandwiches with rotisserie roasted and naturally-raised meats, and features the only all-Greek beverage menu available in any United States restaurant. Frozen Greek yogurt is served for dessert. Listen now to learn more from Bililies on the Souvla experience and what lies ahead for the company, and check out the Emerging Brands podcast to learn about other rising brands and innovators in the restaurant industry.

On this episode of Emerging Brands, Joe DeLoss—the founder of fast casual restaurant chain Hot Chicken Takeover—discusses bringing Nashville-style fried chicken to Columbus, Ohio. Inspired by Nashville restaurant favorites Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack and Monell’s, Joe DeLoss decided to create his own hot chicken restaurant chain.Monell’s had family-style southern meals every day of the week,” says DeLoss. “You would join a table with ten other people, and I fell in love with the communal experience. Most guests walking into a fast casual restaurant don’t remember being called out or greeted—our question was, how do we build the infrastructure of our restaurant around recreating that communal experience for our guests and employees?”Over the last decade, Joe DeLoss has worked in a number of industries in an effort to create employment opportunities for people experiencing or who have experienced incarceration, homelessness, and other hardships. Founded in 2014, Hot Chicken Takeover has become a breakout brand in the Midwest. The chain boasts an excellent employee retention rate and an ever-growing customer base.In this podcast, DeLoss details his retention and employee development goals as well as the core values of the fast casual chain.The Hot Chicken Takeover team endeavors to operate from a place of “bold humility” in everything they do. “We listen to everything we hear and take it very seriously. Our goal is to acknowledge and address trends that our customers are experiencing before they become large problems,” explains DeLoss. “We know that we can always improve, and we’re unwilling to get in the way of progress. We measure an employee’s performance against that.”

An emerging restaurant brand has to be so much more than just an innovative food concept. Nowadays, the market is highly saturated, especially in the QSR and fast casual segments. But emerging brand concepts are outperforming the rest. They are not only doing this by resonating with customers but are also redefining the restaurant business. The California-based Starbird Chicken hasn't been just wingin' it. "Starbird Chicken is really different from other chicken concepts in that we have modernized the entire food experience. We set out to really reinvent everything from food quality, ingredients, design, and convenience in the fast-food space. We reinvented the experience for the modern consumer," says Aaron Noveshen, founder & president of The Culinary Edge, the parent company of Starbird. Noveshen hatched the Starbird concept back in 2014 with the goal to offer a “super premium fast food" experience for guests. But just because the food is served fast, doesn't mean Starbird skimps on food quality. "In terms of Starbird staying on top of food quality control, it's a relentless commitment to greatness every single day. But ultimately, we are constantly thinking about new ways to improve our product. We taste it, I'm in the restaurants a lot and we're trying the food all the time and are being highly self-critical," says Noveshen.Learn what else Starbird Chicken is doing to continue to outshine the competition in today's market in the Emerging Brand podcast above. According to Foodable Labs data, chicken increased in mentions by 12.9 percent by millennials and was featured on 82.5% of chefs menus. So, how are you showcasing chicken on your menu? Food sourcing plays a pivotal role when it comes to quality and consistency. Finding the right supplier is the first step. Tyson Foods, for example, works with partners to find exactly what they’re looking for. Learn more at Tyson Foods now.

Samantha Stephens, chef and founder of OatMeals shares with Foodable the origins of her single-ingredient fast casual concept and how she built it from the ground up.

Tom Holt, Founder and CEO of Urbane Cafe, shares insightful information about focusing on the consumer and their demands to sustain growth.

Seasoned food industry leader, Joe Guith, President of McAlister’s Deli®, shares his ideas about the future outlook of the brand.

Top executives from emerging brand Tupelo Honey talk on how building an engaging lifestyle brand can help you build a rockstar brand through people.

Hunter Pond of East Hampton Sandwich Co. shares the early challenges that came with opening a restaurant brand with zero experience under his belt at the young age of 25.

Nicole Marquis, Founder and CEO of HipCityVeg, tells us how she developed her restaurant to show people that plant-based cuisine can be delicious. Her mission started when her desire to help her father fix his high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes became a debate about genetics versus diet. Nicole knew that she needed to show, not tell, her father that he could eat well and not give anything up that he loves about food, to instill a lifestyle change.

In 2010, Steve Schulze was working to become a healthier version of himself, just like everyone else. But after learning that the “healthy” juices he was drinking were actually made with additives and fillers, he knew society needed a better option for all the consumers trying to improve their lifestyles. So he began his mission with Nekter to become the “people’s juice;” affordable, accessible, and truly healthy. Now with 100 locations across the U.S., Nekter provides juices, smoothies and acai bowls, all without fillers. For less than $5, people can easily grab and drink 5 pounds of vegetables as opposed to the $8 filler juices offered at what Schulze calls “elitist juice bars.”Schulze points to his people as his best marketing strategy. He says it’s all about listening to what your consumer wants, not what you want, and consistently providing that. With the next generation looking even more intently at healthy options, Schulze is excited to see what’s next.

Sam Polk was a hedge fund manager before he had, what he calls, a “crisis of conscience.” He was awakened by a number of structural inequalities he saw in our society, especially those in our food system. So he set out to confront those inequalities, first with his nutrition program Groceryships, and now with Everytable.Everytable is first and foremost a business just like Tender Greens or McDonalds. But Polk’s mission is a little loftier. Seeing that access to healthy food is scarce in underprivileged neighborhoods, Everytable strives to provide healthy options to underserved neighborhoods at truly affordable prices. Clean, vegetable-forward, culinarily-driven meals are sold at lower price points than their larger, less-healthy competitors.So how does he do it? You’ll have to take a listen to this episode of Foodable’s Emerging Brands Podcast Series for his full business model, but variable pricing plays a major role in creating profitable stores that are truly accessible to all income levels.

The Little Beet emerged out of a partnership between Andy Stern and John Rigos’ company Aurify Brands (formerly Five Points Partners) and Andy Duddleston. After a trip to LA, the team was inspired by the restaurant concept Lemonade and wanted to bring a sort of vegetable-focused healthy concept to New York. At the time, the team would look for healthy concepts in the city but could only find salad shops and wanted to provide another option in their market. Offering 11 different vegetable sides, The Little Beet has distinguished itself as a brand serving healthy and delicious vegetable-focused dishes without having to only serve salad. Consumers off all diet types can find something on their menu. The Little Beet does things “the hard way.” Using all premium ingredients and ingredients that can be difficult to source, Duddleston says “I think that’s what makes us special.” But it takes more than good food to create an emerging brand. Listen to this episode of the emerging brand series to see how The Little Beet combines a great food offering, a fun environment, and their “secret sauce” to keep customers coming back for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

By the time he was 24, Scott Davis was working as a manager at Au Bon Pain with soon to be CEO of Panera, Ron Shaik. He helped evolve Au Bon Pain into Panera Bread and there spent 25 years as the chief concept officer. Through his years of experience with one of America’s most widely known brands, he has learned many lessons which he carried over into his position as the president of Corelife Eatery. Some of the most important lessons being that, as a company, you must always be ready for a change. Customers are always looking for something new. Today it’s about fresh, healthy and clean. But as this new trend was coming to be, Panera and its high-quality offering noticed that while customers were coming to them for great food, they were also coming for the atmosphere. Something that hasn’t seemed to change. Listen in to this episode of Foodable’s Emerging Brands Podcast Series to hear more about what customers are looking for and how your brand can provide the best product and experience.

CEO of Shake Shack, Randy Garutti, has 18 years of experience with Union Square Hospitality under his belt. He’s learned directly from one of the greatest minds in our industry, Danny Meyer, and it shows in Garutti’s leadership style. As the chief executive of Foodable’s highest-ranked emerging brand, Garutti knows a thing or two about creating a successful, loved, and lasting brand. There are few key factors Garutti lives by. Firstly, Garutti believes success begins with those in leadership. To build a successful company, those guiding the way must be incredible problem-solvers with a focus and ethos aligning with the brand. Beyond that, key indicators of a successful brand include having a deep personal connection with customers, providing an array of convenient options alongside incredible service, and a commitment to improving with every step taken towards growth. Listen to this episode of Foodable’s Emerging Brands Podcast Series for more insights into how Foodable’s highest ranking emerging brand is meeting customers where they are.