Understanding a brand is important, but investing in people always pays big in the end. Adam Nugent and Kate Strong welcome the CEO of Savory Shauna Smith to the podcast. They talk about how working with restaurants that are loved is great, but building them up to be legacy brands is the goal. Discover the ins and outs of beloved brands and the secret to true growth.
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Shauna Smith has been in the restaurant game for quite some time, starting the Four Foods Group with her husband several years ago. Now, she runs the Savory Restaurant Fund and owns about 70 restaurant locations including Kneaders, Little Caesars, Mo’Bettahs, and Swig. In this episode, she talks about opening their first Kneaders and how Swig is giving back to the community.
SS: Our mission when we first started was to create jobs. That was how Kneaders came about. We opened our first Kneaders down in Lehi, in front of Smith’s. It was just down the street from our first home. I was helping to operate this brand new restaurant, and I knew nothing. We just rolled with it every single day. And I think the biggest thing was that I was willing to do anything. I was willing to learn, and I was committed to learning. I discovered after a few months that I wanted to do this forever.
KS: Tell us more about Swig. How did that all come about, and why did you choose it?
SS: We had a mutual friend, and we were introduced to the founders of Swig. They wanted to grow the brand and continue to do what they were doing—providing happiness in a cup. And it was interesting because in the beginning, I think I had been a customer. But when we were trying to explain it to others, there was a little bit of a disconnect. People just didn’t get it. So, it was like, just get in your car and go through the drive-thru. You’ll understand. And it’s true. The moment people have their first Swig and their first experience, they’re sold and they come all the time.
It’s one of those brands that I’m so proud of. They are doing great things in the community. They just did this huge Share the Love campaign where they sold stickers, and portions of certain drinks that were sold went to the different charities that each store individually picked. We’re talking about animal shelters and homeless shelters, and they got to choose as employees. They were the ones raising these funds. What’s even cooler is that our Swig community showed up and donated. We raised over $90,000 that we were able to donate.
Listen to the entire interview here.
