KBP Brands, the giant Kansas City, Mo.-based franchisee, on Monday named Heather Stege the brand president for its Arby’s restaurants.
KBP recently acquired nearly 120 units of Arby’s, which is owned by the Atlanta-based Inspire Brands. That acquisition gave KBP nearly 1,000 locations, notably Taco Bell and KFC locations.
Stege has more than 20 years of strategic marketing and operational experience in the retail and foodservice industries. Most recently, she was president of the Chicago-based pizza chain Lou Malnati’s. Before that, she was its chief strategy officer.
“Heather’s strategic and operational expertise positions KBP to continue diversifying our offerings,” KBP CEO Michael Kulp said in a statement.
KBP is one of the nation’s largest franchise organizations. Its acquisition of the Arby’s locations comes as more franchisees, often backed by private equity or family office dollars, have been making acquisitions and expanding aggressively. More of them are branching into other brands as their growth slows in their existing concepts.
KBP had largely focused on Yum Brands-owned concepts. Its purchase of the Arby’s locations expands its ownership into brands owned by another multi-unit company. Yum owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. Inspire Brands operates Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John’s, Sonic and Dunkin’ in addition to Arby’s.
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