Florida-based Jeremiah’s Italian Ice has named Michael Keller as CEO and president. Keller has previously served as CEO/president of Pearson Candy Company, chief marketing officer of International Dairy Queen, vice president of marketing at Jamba Juice and senior vice president of marketing for Baskin Robbins USA.
He takes over for Jeremiah’s founder Jeremy Litwack, who will remain in the business as a brand ambassador.
“Jeremiah’s has grown at an incredible pace,” Litwack said in a statement. “After 27 years and more than 100 locations opening and operating, I feel that now is the time to pivot my focus, opening the door for new leadership with the skillset and background necessary to take our brand to the next level.”
Jeremiah’s, which recently celebrated the opening of its 116th location, has also brought on Erin Buono as its first director of research & development. Buono brings over a decade of experience in innovation and product design, including at Sonic Drive-In and Virtual Dining Concepts.
Additionally, Jeremiah’s has named Adam Hing, formerly of Ruth’s Chris, Bloomin’ Brands, and Darden Restaurants, as its director of supply chain, while Julianna Voyles has been promoted to senior director of franchise operations, from operations director.
‘With a record number of stores opened in 2022, and even more in store for 2023, I am confident that Jeremiah’s growth will continue, and we are proactively positioning the brand and building the necessary infrastructure to support both our current and future franchisees,” Keller said in a statement. “I’m honored to step into the role of CEO/President, and work with Jeremy and the new management team to continue the momentum and success the brand has seen within these last few years.”
Jeremiah’s has made recently made several strategic moves to support its growth, including bringing on Sundell & Associates to provide distribution/logistics support for the company’s supply chain, and strengthening franchisor/franchisee relations with the new Jeremiah’s Franchisee Advisory Council. The council is made up of area representatives and multi-unit and single-unit operators representing seven different U.S. regions. Since Jeremiah’s franchise launch in 2019, the Italian Ice brand has awarded over 280 franchise units across more than 120 franchise groups and has seen over a 500% increase in new units in less than four years, according to a release. According to Datassential, the company grew its footprint by nearly 28% from 2021 to 2022 alone, while sales during that timeframe jumped by nearly 77%, to $20.4 million.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
