Bluestone Lane, the Australian-inspired coffee chain based in New York City, has named board member April Siler its new chief concept officer, the company announced Friday. Siler will be responsible for accelerating the company's growth and entrance to new business channels.
"The appointment of April to the role of chief concept officer is a testament to the incredible potential we feel can be unlocked through the continued investment into our omnichannel marketing and digital, and accelerated commercialization of our eCommerce and Grocery channels," said Nicholas Stone, founder and CEO of Bluestone Lane, in a statement. “April's experience and skillset will complement the Bluestone Lane executive team to achieve our ambitions of being the world's leading premium coffee and hospitality brand.”
Siler comes most recently from digital-native nutritional supplement company 8Greens where she helped the brand see 130% growth in 2020. Prior to that, Siler was senior vice president of marketing and global development for Califia Farms and led marketing for The Chia Co., where she launched new products and helped both companies experience growth.
“What’s interesting about this new opportunity is that I have always had to depend on investing in third-party databases for shopper data and consumer insights,” Siler said in a statement. “Paying north of a million per year in fees. Whereas at Bluestone Lane, we have a database that has grown four times larger than the Nielsen consumer panel in just the past year. I am very excited to work with such a talented team and accelerate our company’s growth.”
Siler will report to Stone along with marketing executives Andrew Stone and Liam Farrow. The four will work on brand marketing, digital investment, and packaged foods innovation for the 55-unit chain.
A former professional athlete (like Stone), Siler understands the Australian culture of the brand. She is Australian and health-focused herself.
“Nick and I both share a common bond from being former professional athletes - Nick as an Australian Footballer and I as an Australian professional basketballer,” she said. “I bring a lot of the same team-building values and culture of excellence via sports that Nick has built up in his company, and I am honored to help take Bluestone Lane to the next level."
At Bluestone Lane, Siler will focus on omnichannel digital marketing strategies to further amplify consumer engagement and drive sales in light of the chain’s app’s digital success, one thing the chain credits for its 2020 survival.
