Wetzel’s Pretzels announced that it has promoted Jennifer Schuler to CEO. Schuler, who has served as the company’s president since 2017, and previously served as chief marketing officer when she joined the company in 2014, will assume global responsibility for the brand, spearheading the continued growth of Wetzel’s Pretzels.
“Jenn is uniquely suited to take over the CEO role at our organization,” says Bill Phelps, co-founder Wetzel’s Pretzels. “Since joining Wetzel’s Pretzels as CMO in 2014, she has combined her marketing and operations experience with global brands to drive same-store sales, profitability for our franchise partners and further growth for the brand domestically and abroad.”
Phelps will remain involved with the company as a board member and shareholder.
Under Schuler’s leadership, Wetzel’s Pretzels has realized a number of key accomplishments, including:
- Achieved comparable same-store sales increases of 2.8 percent
- Grown system-wide sales to $175 million
- Attracted a new genre of outstanding franchise partners who bring experience, infrastructure, capital and creativity to fuel growth and brand performance
- Significant domestic and international growth, including multiple locations in China
“I’m looking forward to working with our partners at CenterOak, and the Wetzel’s Pretzel’s Board to continue growing this brand both domestically and internationally,” says Schuler. “By leveraging our category-leading economics, operational simplicity and unmatched unit flexibility, we’re well-positioned to track toward our goal of 500 locations by 2021.”
In 2018, Schuler also became a Wetzel’s Pretzels franchisee. Along with a recently-opened kiosk, she now owns and operates two locations at the Mall of America, providing an additional unique insight which serves as a leadership filter for decision making, truly giving her skin in the game.
