Atlanta — GoTo Foods, parent company of the Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel®, Cinnabon®, Jamba®, McAlister’s Deli®, Moe’s Southwest Grill® and Schlotzsky’s® brands, has appointed Urvi Patel as the chief brand officer of Cinnabon. As chief brand officer, Patel will be responsible for providing executive-level guidance on brand strategy, managing marketing efforts and developing key operational strategies to drive financial growth and ensure franchise success for the brand.
“Urvi’s appointment as Cinnabon’s new chief brand officer presents significant opportunities for the iconic brand,” says Shelly Harris, chief operating officer at GoTo Foods. “Urvi has demonstrated exceptional leadership, making impactful decisions that have accelerated business growth and improved operational processes for ongoing expansion. Under Urvi’s leadership, Cinnabon is well-positioned for continued business growth and boundless development.”
Since joining the company in 2019 as the vice president of insights, analytics and revenue management, Patel has successfully led the development of a tool across all seven brands that allows the company and franchisees direct access to customer sentiment on virtually every aspect of their experience — food quality, value, speed and service.
Patel served as the senior vice president of customer experience & engagement at GoTo Foods for nearly 2 years where she led consumer engagement, loyalty, branded currency, revenue management, insights and digital customer experience. With more than 20 years of experience leading cross-functional business teams and addressing complex business challenges, she brings a distinctive perspective to her role. She will leverage her expertise in corporate and brand strategy, franchisee engagement and analytics.
Atlanta-based platform company GoTo Foods (formerly known as Focus Brands) is a leading developer of global multi-channel foodservice brands. As of September 29, 2024, GoTo Foods, through its affiliate brands, is the franchisor and operator of over 6,800 restaurants, cafes, ice cream shoppes, and bakeries in all 50 states and over 65 countries and territories under the Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel®, Cinnabon®, Jamba®, Moe’s Southwest Grill®, McAlister’s Deli® and Schlotzsky’s® brand names, as well as the Seattle’s Best Coffee® brand on certain military bases and in certain international markets. For more information, visit www.gotofoods.com.
Founded in Seattle in 1985, Cinnabon is the market leader among cinnamon roll bakeries. The company serves fresh, aromatic, oven-hot cinnamon rolls, a variety of other baked goods and specialty drinks. As of September 29, 2024, there are more than 2,000 Cinnabon locations worldwide, primarily in high-traffic venues such as shopping malls, airports, train stations, travel plazas, entertainment centers and military establishments. For more information, visit www.cinnabon.com.
SOURCE: GoTo Foods