Food Enterprise WOWorks Introduces 2 New C-Level Positions

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Food enterprise WOWorks, which owns salad and fast-casual chain Saladworks, has added two new c-level positions to its management team to speed up growth for its healthier restaurant brands, including Frutta Bowls and Barberitos Southwestern Grille & Cantina. For the day-to-day management of its two groups of six restaurant brands, WOWorks created two new Chief Brand Officer positions.

Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, and Zoup! Eatery have named Lauriena Borstein their new Chief Brand Officer. At Saladworks and Frutta Bowls, she was previously the Senior Vice President of WOWorks and the General Brand Manager.

“I’m pleased to be managing these better-for-you restaurant brands that have shown significant growth potential,” said Lauriena Borstein of Saladworks, Frutta Bowls and Zoup! Eatery Chief Brand Officer. A co-branding is also a great option because of its uniqueness. For her, the opportunity to serve two menus at one location and to provide a support structure for all franchisees is an exciting prospect.

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, The Simple Greek, and Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina have hired John Geyerman as their Chief Brand Officer. Formerly, he was the Senior Vice President of Operations for WOWorks and the General Brand Manager for Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and The Simple Greek.

He is honored to oversee three outstanding, plant-forward restaurant brands that give our guests intriguing global cuisines, according to John Geyerman, the Chief Brand Officer of Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, The Simple Greek, and Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina. There has been an explosion in the number of “healthy halo” concepts popping up everywhere, from grocery stores and airports to university campuses. It is imperative that all of their marketing and operational endeavors sync with all of their competitors.

Food enterprise WOWorks has also created two additional Vice President of Marketing positions better to connect its six businesses’ marketing strategies and processes. Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, and Zoup! Eatery now have Lori Kern as their Vice President of Marketing. Saladworks and Frutta Bowls previously employed her as Director of Marketing. Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, The Simple Greek, and Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina have hired Mark Kreiner as Vice President of Marketing. The Simple Greek and Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh previously employed him as their Director of Marketing.

CEO of WOWorks, which is owned by Centre Lane Partners, Kelly Roddy, expressed her delight at the expansion of the company’s corporate structure, which includes the addition of these new Chief Brand Officers and Vice Presidents of Marketing, as well as the promotion of ten additional staff members to positions with expanded responsibilities and objectives. Bringing senior strategic and tactical leadership to each restaurant brand will help improve unit economics and promote overall growth. Reorganization of the corporate structure will also make these executives better familiar with each restaurant’s brand.

Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina, Zoup! Eatery and other WOWorks-acquired eateries will create nearly 10,000 new jobs in the restaurant industry by year’s end. WOWorks plans to increase its negotiating and purchasing power through the use of shared services and plans to leverage best practices from all six brands and use cost efficiencies to fuel growth productivity and better vendor support as they expand their portfolio of healthier restaurants.