Mrs. Fields Famous Brands Reorganizes Its Product Development Group

Mrs. Fields Famous Brands said today that it has completed a reorganization of its product development group, doubling staff and bringing the organization into the company's marketing division.

Steve Russo, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands president and CEO, said the change will help the company better execute on two of its priority objectives -- building profitable year-over-year sales growth for franchisees and accelerating profitable new franchise store openings -- by bringing products with strong consumer appeal to the market with greater frequency.

"While consumers already have a deep emotional attachment to our brands -- often going back many years -- we want to be sure that our brands remain current and exciting in their eyes," said Russo. "We have strong research and product development capabilities. With this change, we're aligning those capabilities more closely with the expectations of consumers."

Craig Bennett has been hired as director of research and development for the company. Bennett has over 25 years of bakery, confectionery and dairy product development experience and has worked for such companies as Kraft, Quest International and Sensient. Bennett has a master's in food science from Rutgers.

As part of the reorganization, the company has also named Paul Kershisnik director of product development. Kershisnik, who has worked in marketing for 17 years, will oversee new product development for each of the company's five brands, working closely with the company's research and development group. Kershisnik has an MBA from Brigham Young University and worked for such companies as General Mills and Pizza Hut prior to coming to Mrs. Fields Famous Brands.

"With this reorganization, we'll be positioned to generate a greater level of excitement with our brands as we introduce products that appeal directly to consumers and motivate them to return frequently to our stores," said Kershisnik.

Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, based in Salt Lake City, is one of the largest franchisors in the premium snack food industry, featuring Mrs. Fields, Great American Cookie Co., TCBY, Pretzel Time and Pretzelmaker as the company's core brands, with more than 2,600 stores in the United States and locations worldwide.


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