Virtual Dining Concepts, the company behind MrBeast Burger and other virtual brands, has hired its first CEO.
Stephanie Sollers was most recently enterprise partnerships lead at DoorDash, where she worked on developing its virtual brand and ghost kitchen business for more than a year. She will bring that experience to Virtual Dining Concepts as it looks to accelerate its growth.
“From the moment I met Stephanie, I was struck by her insight into the industry, her passionate approach to business and her ability to inspire and get the best out of her team,” said VDC co-founder Robert Earl in a statement. “As we gear up for aggressive growth and expansion, with exciting new brands and development of proprietary technology, having Stephanie on board as CEO, with her breadth of experience, strength and knowledge, is precisely what we need to achieve our goals.”
Before her time at DoorDash, Sollers worked briefly with CloudKitchens and was head of U.S. brand partnerships for advertising tech firm Ogury, according to her LinkedIn page. Before that, she spent more than five years with location-based marketing company GroundTruth, where she rose to VP of industry solutions and automotive. She also founded OMO Together, a nonfiction book club.
“Much of my career has been at fast-paced and high-growth technology companies, and I look forward to continuing that path at VDC by expanding our food technology solutions to help restaurants and continuing to bring digital communities to life,” Sollers said in a statement. She said she has been working with Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTube star known as MrBeast, to bring his namesake brand to new markets around the world.
Virtual Dining Concepts was founded in 2019 by restaurateur Robert Earl, Earl Enterprises CMO Trish Giordano and Earl's son Robbie. It has been at the forefront of the celebrity virtual brand trend, launching concepts with Guy Fieri and Tyga, and more recently sports brands like NASCAR and Barstool Sports.
But its most well-known concept is MrBeast Burger, which became an overnight sensation when it was introduced in late 2020. In an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast last month, Donaldson said the brand was close to reaching $100 million in revenue since its founding about 15 months ago, adding that it was opening about 50 new locations a week.
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