Craveworthy Brands and its CEO and Founder Gregg Majewski were recently interviewed and featured in Forbes by Writer Gary Stern.
McDonald’s and Burger King specialize in burgers, Papa John’s and Domino’s in pizza, and Chipotle in burritos. Most restaurant chains get known for one item, introduce new offerings, but rarely stray far from their core menu. And then there’s Craveworthy Brands, which launched in 2022, and is based in South Elgin, Ill, 35 miles northwest of Chicago.
It has 15—count them 15 brands. and over 200 locations. It is spearheaded by founder and CEO Gregg Majewski, the former CEO of Jimmy John’s, who is still the largest single shareholder in the company though there are investments by some family offices and high-net worth individuals. Of its 200 locations, ownership is split between 100 company-owned and 100 franchised.
And those brands include: Wing It On!, Sigri Indian BBQ, The Budlong Southern Chicken, Hot Chicken Takeover, Taim Mediterranean Kitchen, and it recently acquired Dirty Dough and Fresh Brothers Pizza. So that covers chicken wings, Indian food, Mediterranean food, pizza, and stuffed cookies. So in an age of specialization for most restaurant chains, Craveworthy Brands covers the food universe with a slew of menus.
And most of what has enabled Majewski to grow Craveworthy Brands into a behemoth derived from its strategy of acquisitions, as if it was a private equity firm not just a restaurant brand (more about that later).
A restaurant chain keeps acquiring new brands and then franchising them to jumpstart growth.
Acquiring Other Brands Is a Main Strategy
Majewski said it started with acquiring Mongolian Concepts that brought it Genghis Grill, Flat Top Grill and BD’s Mongolian Grill, which provided “revenue and a foundational base to build off as we acquired new brands and developed them.” In all, it has acquired 10 of its brands and then developed 5 of its own including Krafted Burger Bar, Nomad Dawgs, Pastizza, Lucky Pat Poke Co and Scramblin’ Ed, and one venture with Soom Fresh Mediterranean, which isn’t counted as part of its 15-brand firm.
“We believe emerging QSR and fast casual brands are the best and fastest path forward to hitting scale in the industry,” Majewski asserts. By analogy, it’s aiming to hit paydirt with as many brands as possible recognizing that not every brand will reach 1000 units.Why develop a brand with so many diverse menus? Majewski replies that his goal was to “create a modern-day restaurant platform of different brands by using shared services including accounting, marketing, tech, franchise development. That would allow us to bet on a ton of emerging brands at one time.”
By having so many brands on its platform, if one or even two brands, fail or fade out, “We won’t be losing everything. Betting on one brand gives you only one bite at the apple. I want to lower my risk and have multiple bites,” Majewski said.
Moreover, he asserts that its purchasing power from ordering food for so many brands reduces its food costs. For example, it buys 10 million pounds of chicken for its array of brands, at a discount, though he declines to disclose what percentage it saves.
Its size from owning so many brands enables it to hire executive talent that a smaller brand couldn’t afford. Craveworthy, he cites, recruited a former McDonald’s senior VP of finance. Hence it can “avoid making the mistakes of start-up brands,” he notes.
In 2023 it generated about $100 million in revenue and expects to hit $200 million by the end of 2024. It’s corporate revenue was $60 million in 2023, and will be close to $120 million in 2024. That leap in revenue arose from its acquisition of Taim Mediterranean Food, Chicken Takeover, and Fresh Brothers Pizza.
Proving the Jet Fuel for Growth
Asked if it operates like a private equity company dedicated to acquiring brands to raise revenue, he replies that restaurateurs “have done an amazing job to develop their brands, but they need us to jet fuel them to get to the next stage. We’re able to come and help them do that.”
He acknowledges that Craveworthy borrows some of private equity’s leading principles. “Their main principle is you can’t fall in love with one thing. If it works, great, and if it’s not great, you have to cut your losses and move on,” he reveals. Ironically, he says it hasn’t accepted any investment from private equity firms.
And the major way it jumpstarts revenue is through franchising. “We have a proven track record of overcoming the typical emerging franchise’s struggles. Our franchisees have a great success rate,” he declares.
Is Going Public in its Future?
Since its revenue has been rising dramatically, it’s considering going public in the next three to five years. “The need and access to capital is one of the main reasons we’d go public,” he says.
Why blend company-owned locations with franchises? “You must always own at least 10% of all locations as a corporation to understand the ins-and-outs of the brand and business,” he reveals.
Asked the keys to its future success, he replies, it’s straightforward, 1) Follow our mission by believing in what we do and making it work, 2) Create the most powerful team we can and let them lead us forward.