“I'm thrilled by the potential I see in Salsarita's,” Castro says. “I look forward to meeting and working with each and every franchisee to take our marketing to the next level and make us a powerful force in the restaurant industry.”

 

Previously, Castro spent five years as the East Coast regional marketing manager at a national casual dining restaurant, where she implemented sales and marketing initiatives that generated more than $25 million in sales in three years. Prior to that, she worked as a regional marketing consultant for Chipotle Mexican Grill, where she boosted sales in her market by 76 percent and exceeded annual sales objectives. She has also worked in public relations and corporate communications, giving her a broad range of expertise.

 

“Yanira brings a unique combination of agency, corporate, and real-world restaurant marketing experience with her to Salsarita’s,” says president and COO Larry Reinstein. “As the head of our growing marketing team, her breadth of experience is going to really help our franchise community and brand expand.”

 

Castro will be at the helm of upcoming marketing initiatives as Salsarita’s targets new expansion efforts, including increased penetration in existing markets and further growth opportunities at nontraditional sites such as universities, airports, and businesses. She will also work with existing franchisees on national marketing and advertising campaigns, and will develop strategies to attract new franchisors.

 

“We purchased Salsarita’s knowing that key capabilities were going to need further development. With Ms. Castro, we are adding meaningful marketing know-how to those capabilities,” says Phil Friedman, CEO. “These combined capabilities are creating a promising future that will attract talented franchise development groups.”