Jennifer Joslyn’s Post

Since starting PLANT CEO, I've been lucky enough to meet so many incredible entrepreneurs in the plant-based space. One of the first companies that caught my eye—while grafting at events selling their delicious pizza—was One Planet Pizza, run by the amazing father-son duo Mike Hill and Joe Hill 🍕. Their passion, grit, and determination impressed me so much that I decided to personally invest in them. 👀 Now, I'm thrilled to share some big news! 🛒 One Planet Pizza has just secured a new retail listing in Morrisons! 🎉 And there's more: 🔥 Introducing the UK's first-ever Vegan Tex Mex Frozen Pizza! 🔥 🌶️ This spicy sourdough pizza is packed with Tex Mex-marinated veggies, jalapeños, and their signature melty plant-based cheese. 🌱🧀 📍 Available now in 315 Morrisons stores nationwide – check the meat-free freezer aisle! ❄️ 📈 After a stellar year with Asda where One Planet Pizza achieved a massive 41% sales growth year-on-year (first 6 months of 2023 vs 2024), they're continuing to defy the odds by driving an 8% month-on-month increase in Asda’s frozen plant-based section (July – Sep 2024), even as the wider meat-free category declines. 🎉 To celebrate this new launch, the Tex Mex pizza will be on offer for just £3 for the first three weeks (7th – 28th Oct), after which it will retail at £4. 👉 Go grab yours now and support plant-based innovation! 🌱🍕 #PlantBased #VeganPizza #Sustainability #OnePlanetPizza #Morrisons #Innovation #TexMex #RetailSuccess

Proud to be advising XOOM FOODS, an impressive team that's quietly solving three BIG opportunities in #fooddelivery: - value - convenience - underutilized capacity Growing Nextbite and Ordermark to reach thousands of restaurants and millions of diners, we learned a ton about consumer behavior and delivery. XOOM's figured out how to leverage underutilized restaurants and supply chains and drop the cost of high quality heat-and-eat meals to under $10, without sacrificing quality. The fact is that food delivery adds up to 50% to the cost of meals, and with rising inflation, a growing percentage of consumers just can't afford it. XOOM's doing it right and founder Suresh Annappindi is the real deal. He's a seasoned, successful serial entrepreneur, Harvard Business School grad, and has held top roles at multiple Fortune 500's. And the company has the quiet backing of the top names in food delivery. Contact me to learn more. We're seeking strategic growth partners. #restauranttech #restaurantowners #restaurantmanagement #restaurantmarketing #business David Currant Diana Might Photis Patriotis Ashwin Kamlani Avi Goren

In 2008, Domino's Pizza was infamous for tasting like cardboard 🤮. Yet today, they’ve flipped the script, becoming the world’s largest pizza chain, valued at over $13 billion. So, what sparked this incredible turnaround? When Patrick Doyle took the helm as CEO in 2008, Domino's was in deep trouble. Sales were plummeting, and to make matters worse, a viral video showed two employees sneezing on the food, tarnishing the brand’s reputation even further. Recognizing the crisis, Doyle brought in Russell Weiner from PepsiCo as the new Chief Marketing Officer. Together, they knew that to save Domino’s, they needed more than just a fresh marketing angle—they had to completely overhaul the pizza itself. And they did. Domino's revamped their entire recipe, refining every aspect of their operations. But that wasn’t all. They launched a daring, now-legendary marketing campaign called "Our Pizza Sucks." In this bold move, Domino's didn’t shy away from criticism. They read out scathing customer reviews, admitted their failures, and boldly declared that the old Domino’s was dead. This raw honesty struck a chord with customers, who were eager to give the new and improved pizza a try. The result? Customers not only loved the revamped pizza but also appreciated Domino's transparency. Sales soared to $5 billion, and the number of stores exploded. 💡 The Marketing Takeaway: Embrace honesty, listen to feedback, and never shy away from change. This is how you can turn your business around and reach new heights. ✅ Found this helpful? - RESHARE with others to read this incredible story - FOLLOW Kamal Balogun for more such content on business and marketing #TheGrowthGuy #growth #business #marketing #entrepreneurship #kamalgood #stkinternationalgroup

15𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐲, 1940 ― 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐜𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 🍔McDonald’s back then was rather a barbecue joint started by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald. It served stuff like slow cooked barbecue and hot dogs alongside a long menu of other food items. 🍔But despite being a slow service joint, the sales picked up pretty quickly. Maybe 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫. The McDonald brothers employed servers who’d take orders and serve customers in its parking lot. 🍔But no matter how much they tried to associate themselves with the barbecue business, the brothers observed that 80% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬. 🍔So they had an idea. They shut shop for a few months, fired a bunch of servers and revamped everything to focus on just burgers. The number of items on their menu dropped to just 9 including hamburgers, cheese burgers, French fries and a few beverages. These items were cheap too. 🍔They also drew 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐝’𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦, or a system that broke the manufacturing process into smaller bits with a pre-planned sequence and started the ‘Speedee Service System’. That helped them assemble the food ahead of time with a lower workforce. It was fast! 🍔That impressed Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman, who went on to become McDonald’s’ first franchise agent. By 1958, McDonald’s had sold 100 million burgers! And soon enough Kroc bought the business from the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million. 🍔But despite breaking ties with the business, the McDonald brothers retained the original restaurant they kickstarted in 1940, renaming it “Big M”. That obviously annoyed Kroc, who quickly opened a McDonald’s around it. 🍔 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐜𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ‘𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟’ 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 $190 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧+ 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲! #business #growth #strategy #linkedinforcreators

“That history of a great American dream is still surviving in this country,” says Yoshida Foods founder and CEO Junki Yoshida, who recently turned 75. “It’s me.” The optimism belies what has been a sweet and sour ride for Yoshida. After the Kyoto-born entrepreneur moved to Seattle at age 19, his family renounced him. So there was a soupçon of revenge stirred into the recipe when, in 1982, he started creating a sauce in his Oregon basement—inspired by what his mother had sold at her restaurant in Japan. The eponymous brand he launched grew into a major success—with sales of $25 million before the U.S. distribution rights were acquired in 2000 for $24 million by the American food giant Heinz (now Kraft Heinz). And then a business that Yoshida claims had commanded 26% of America’s total teriyaki sales slowly killed got killed over the past two decades. But Yoshida didn’t let that end his story. His repurchase of Mr. Yoshida’s was the most significant food buyback of 2024—and the early success of its return to Costco, Sam’s Club, Safeway and Albertson’s as well as its first-ever launch on Amazon has paved the way for Mr. Yoshida’s to regain its position as a major player in the condiments industry. Read more of my profile here: https://lnkd.in/eSy_uke6

🍔 In-N-Out Burger: Thriving by Defying the Norm In-N-Out Burger’s journey highlights the importance of businesses carving out their own distinct paths and markets. Since its founding in 1948, this family-run chain has defied industry norms: no franchising, no frozen ingredients, and a “secret menu” that isn’t advertised. With just over 400 locations, it boasts the highest sales per store in its segment, bringing in $2.1 billion annually. Their success didn’t come from following others' playbooks but from exploring, pivoting, and adjusting along the way. This approach illustrates that building something remarkable often requires stepping off the beaten path. True innovation arises from discovery—staying curious, staying committed, and finding balance between profit, purpose, and quality. 🔗 Read More at: https://lnkd.in/ga7TQz72 #Innovation #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #Discovery #InNOutBurger

What is Corner Bakery doing to right its ship? This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Chris Dharod, the CEO of Corner Bakery. Dharod is with SSCP Management, a franchisee of Applebee’s and Sonic and owner of Cici’s Pizza and Roy’s. The company bought Corner Bakery out of #bankruptcy last year. The brand was owned by the same owner as Boston Market and was having many of the same problems. It didn’t pay many of its bills and was burdened by lawsuits and serious issues. We talk about what the brand is doing to fix all that, what kind of people it brought in and what kind of sales the brand is generating now. Hear the full conversation: https://bit.ly/3TgH155

The NY Times quoted me today about the incredible rise in McDonald's stock price over the last 20 years. For a business school professor the interesting question is how did McDonald's pull off the ability to boost earnings per share from under $2 in 2004 to almost $12 today? A big factor the story missed -- getting rid of company owned stores! In 2004 McDonald's had over nine thousand company owned. Today, the figure is a bit over two thousand. Those restaurants didn't disappear, they were just sold to franchisees. Going from 30% company owned stores to 5% lowered costs, shifted risks to franchise partners and super-sized profits. https://lnkd.in/eBuxj7EN

From #ConfidentInitials to Global Pizza #supremacy : Pizza Hut's Journey 🍕 From a single Kansas Pizza Hut in 1958 to a global brand with over 18,000 locations, Pizza Hut's journey is an inspiring tale of innovation and adaptation. 📅 #KeyMilestones : ▪️ 1958: #Dancarney and #FrankCarney open the first Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas, with just 25 seats. ▪️ 1960s: Rapid expansion across the US, pioneering the concept of dine-in pizza restaurants. ▪️ 1970s: International expansion begins, with Pizza Hut reaching Canada and Mexico. ▪️ 1980s: Introduction of iconic menu items like the Pan Pizza and the Stuffed Crust pizza. ▪️ 1990s: Merges with KFC and Taco Bell to form Tricon Global Restaurants (later Yum! Brands). ▪️ 2000s: Continued global growth, with a focus on innovation and new product offerings. ▪️ 2010s: Embraces digital ordering and delivery platforms to meet changing consumer preferences. ▪️ 2020s: Focuses on customization, plant-based options, and a strong digital presence to stay ahead in the competitive pizza market. 📈Key factors behind Pizza Hut's #success : ▪️ Early adoption of franchising: Enabled rapid expansion and brand recognition. ▪️ Menu innovation: Consistently introduced new and popular pizza options. ▪️ Adapting to consumer trends: Embraced online ordering, delivery, and customization. ▪️ Global reach: Became a household name in numerous countries. 💫Pizza Hut's story is an #inspiration for Entrepreneurs, highlighting the importance of : ▪️ Innovation and adaptation: Staying relevant in a changing market. ▪️ Building a strong brand identity: Creating a loyal customer base. ▪️ Embracing new technologies: Meeting evolving customer needs. What are your thoughts on Pizza Hut's journey? Share in the comments! #PizzaHut #SuccessStory #RestaurantIndustry #business #india #inspiration #thelegendaries #day16 #day16of100 #dailybusiness #trending #linkedin #trendytech #technology #entrepreneurcommunity #successjourney #venturescapital #innovationlegacy #leadership #businessadvisory

Fresh. Krispy Kreme. Doughnuts. ...at McDonald's? The two chains announced yesterday that the two iconic brands would be expanding their partnership, with Krispy Kreme doughnuts available in participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide by 2026. Both McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme used the same press release to make their announcement, leading with this first line: Krispy Kreme to provide fresh doughnuts daily at McDonald’s restaurants nationwide. Let's focus on just three words: Fresh doughnuts daily. The reason why these words are remarkable has to do with Krispy Kreme’s history. In 2006, Krispy Kreme was dying. The company was cash flow negative, while facing billions of dollars in lawsuits with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Employee turnover was over 20 percent. It was under investigation by the Department of Justice due to shady accounting practices, and worst of all, same-store sales were declining dramatically. During this time you might have noticed that Krispy Kreme doughnuts were ubiquitous: You could find them in several different types of grocery stores, even in gas stations. But these doughnuts were sold wholesale. In terms of quality, freshness, and taste, those packaged products were much different from the doughnuts you'd get when buying directly at a Krispy Kreme store. Over the next years, though, the company would embark on a major turnaround, starting with its distribution model. Let's see what you can learn from the change, along with the company's new partnership. #krispykreme #mcdonald's #sales #distribution #howtosell