Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, a leading coffee franchise renowned for its premium sourcing of Hawaiian coffees and memorable cafés, announces the appointment of Chris Ruszkowski as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Having been with the brand since 2020, Ruszkowski moves from SVP of Marketing to a vital C-Suite role as Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii prepares to grow brand awareness and systemwide sales, alongside its development goal to open 20 more locations by year-end.
With proven success and more than 25 years of industry experience, Ruszkowski is a storyteller at heart and takes a customer-first approach to every project. Previously he has held various marketing roles with Quiznos, and at advertising agencies working on clients such as McDonalds, Einstein Bros, and Frito Lay, to name a few. This appointment comes at a crucial time as Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii is teed up for aggressive franchise development, product innovation, and unit level sales growth.
As CMO, Ruszkowski will oversee marketing communications, brand vision, advertising planning – which includes social media and local store marketing – and more. In this role, he plans to continue to evolve the Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii brand voice and provide increased support to franchisees on a variety of levels, from grand openings to product promotion.
“In my opinion, this position is a marketer’s dream – I get to grow awareness of a premium coffee product that is backed by a brand with a disruptive name, nostalgic brand heritage, and very loyal customer following,” says Ruszkowski. “When I originally joined the Bad Ass Coffee team, I was stoked about the rebranding direction the company was taking on and understood the potential that we had in front of us. Through the use of smart insights, memorable promotions and outstanding customer experiences, I look forward to growing this memorable brand into a household name.
Coming off a milestone year, with a 76% average unit volume increase and a steady rise in retail merchandise sales, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii proves to be an attractive franchise investment. With plans to open 150 new locations over the next five years, the brand has identified prime growth territories available nationwide.
“Chris has been such an amazing asset to this business from day one as our first strategic hire in early 2020,” says Scott Snyder, CEO of Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii. “His promotion to Chief Marketing Officer is more of a recognition of what he has already demonstrated – especially his ability to transform a shared vision to a tangible reality for what has become one of the hottest emerging franchise brands in the coffee category. I look forward to continuing to work with Chris as we write the next chapter in this great brand’s evolution.”
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was born on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1989 with the dream of sharing American-grown, premium Hawaiian coffee with customers everywhere. In addition to premium coffee from the famous Kona region of the Big Island, Bad Ass Coffee also sources from Kauai and Maui. Beyond premium Hawaiian coffees, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii serves up a full menu of popular blended drinks, signature lattes, cold brews, teas, innovative foods with a Hawaiian twist, and branded merchandise.
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii is looking to partner with qualified and engaged individuals seeking single and multi-unit opportunities. The brand offers an affordable, highly scalable opportunity with strong profit-potential. Franchisees can expect a total investment range between $385,500-$778,000*=. As International Franchise Association VetFran members, veteran franchisees who join will receive a $10,000 discount* off the initial franchise fee.
