Boston Market has named Sara Rosenberg Bittorf its new chief brand officer, the company said Thursday.
Bittorf assumes the position starting April 9. Most recently, she was vice president of marketing for Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
George Michel, the Denver-based brand’s chief executive, said Bittorf’s long career inside and outside the restaurant industry — including marketing and branding positions with Burger King, Diageo, Carnival Cruise Lines and Carrabba’s — should give her the perspective to help Boston Market accentuate all its brand attributes in future marketing campaigns.
“She comes from different backgrounds, and we like that she ended up back in the restaurant business with a very strong track record in strategy and brand building,” Michel said. “We want to make sure we’re consistent from a menu, facilities and communications point of view, down to what our crew uniforms and color palettes in the stores will look like.”
In her new position, Bittorf will oversee marketing, as well as culinary research and development.
Michel hinted that Boston Market’s branding in the near future would promote strengths the chain had not prominently touted before, such as all-natural chicken that is never frozen and never left on the rotisserie for more than an hour and 45 minutes.
“We’ve created a vision for our company to simplify life for our guests,” he said. “We’re in home meal replacement, and we’ll focus on being our guests solution when they need a healthier meal to take home to their family or have catered to the office.”
He added that 2011 was a turnaround year for Boston Market, in which the brand increased its average unit volume from $1 million to $1.1 million. Growth plans for 2012 include between two and four openings of company-owned units in probable markets like Houston, New York and New Jersey. Nontraditional growth targets include airports, mall food courts and college campuses, “where we can be ‘Mom’s meal replacement,’” Michel said.
Boston Market operates more than 480 locations in the United States.
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].
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